PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Cortani recounted Monday the harrowing half-hour he spent with Scott L. Davis in January 2009.
Cortani took the witness stand and gave a play-by-play account of the incident in Davis’ attempted-murder trial in Clallam County Superior Court.
Davis, 60, is charged with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault for allegedly shooting the Forks lawman — and hitting him twice — at a vacant waterfront cabin on state Highway 112 between Neah Bay and Sekiu.
Cortani was investigating a trespassing complaint near Milepost 7 when he encountered Davis.
Davis shot Cortani in the left arm and hip. Cortani returned fire and shot Davis in the stomach and left arm.
Both men were treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Camouflage pants
Cortani remembers seeing Davis come around the side of the house in camouflage pants and a Grizzly Adams-style jacket.
Davis was “not impolite but kind of curt” when he encountered the deputy, Cortani recalled.
Davis told Cortani that he had an arrangement with the owner of the house to stay there.
Cortani, 42, told the Silverdale man that he did not have permission to be there and asked to see his identification.
“He told me he was a retired major for the United States Army and he didn’t have to listen to this,” Cortani testified.
With his arms out and hands open, Davis walked around to the west side of the house in a move that what Cortani described as “passive resistance.”
Repeated request
Cortani repeatedly asked Davis to stop, keeping a distance of six to eight feet, and told him he was under arrest.
Davis put his hands on top of the head, looked over his shoulder and suddenly reached for a handgun, Cortani said.
“He made a quick move,” Cortani said.
“He turned to the left with his upper body. I saw both hands go to the handle of the gun.”
Cortani shot Davis with an electronic stun gun commonly known as a Taser, but the weapon did not prevent Davis from reaching for his gun.
In direct examination, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly asked Cortani what he did when the Taser did not disable Davis.
“I hate to say it, but I said, ‘Oh s—,'” Cortani said.
“As he was bringing the gun up he said, ‘You’re right; oh s—.’
“And that’s when he shot the first round.”
Initially, Cortani thought his left arm was no longer attached to his shoulder. He dropped the Taser and reached for his sidearm. Davis shot again.
To the head
“This time I saw it coming right into my head,” Cortani said.
“I ducked to the right and I started moving to the right. . . . I saw the barrel of the gun swinging toward where my head was.”
All Cortani could think about was getting off the deck where he and Davis were standing.
He slid under a rope railing and zigzagged to the cover of a beach log as Davis fired away.
“It all happened very fast,” Cortani told the jury.
As he was running, Cortani turned and shot back over his shoulder. He sustained a wound to the hip during the exchange.
With one good arm, Cortani managed to reload his gun. He demonstrated how he reloaded to the jury.
18 rounds shot
During cross-examination, Cortani told defense attorney Harry Gasnick that he fired a total of 18 rounds.
After the initial gun battle, Davis retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun from inside the house as Cortani radioed to dispatch for backup.
“I thought he was leaving,” Cortani said.
Davis approached Cortani with the shotgun, took cover in a dip in the ground and aimed it at Cortani.
Cortani fired multiple rounds until Davis raised the shotgun with both arms and tossed it to the side.
“He told me he was hurt and he needed help,” Cortani said.
“I told him that help is on the way.”
As he was holding Davis at gunpoint during the 30-minute wait for backup, Cortani assessed his own injuries. His ears were ringing and blood was coming from his mouth.
“I tried to work on keeping myself calm because I didn’t want to go into shock,” Cortani said.
“I was worried if I pass out, I’d be dead.”
Davis is not scheduled to take the stand when Gasnick calls witnesses Wednesday and possibly Thursday.
The prosecution rested its case Monday. No testimony is slated for today.
Davis sat quietly as Cortani narrated the incident. He wore a yellow dress shirt, white pants and a multicolored tie.
Mental health experts will offer testimony about Davis’ state of mind during the incident as well as his normal state, Gasnick has said.
Davis is being held in the Clallam County jail on $500,000 bail.
After the incident, Cortani received numerous medals and awards, including the state Law Enforcement Medal of Honor, the state’s highest law enforcement award.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.