“One of my favorite memories of him was staying at his house the night before Bay to Breakers. After a party we went to bed around 3 a.m. and woke up at 6 a.m.,” Cohlan said. “(He was) decked out in pirate attire, we took the bus downtown. (We) met up with the other guys, and just had such a fun time.”

But aside from enjoying college life to its fullest, Davis knew when to buckle down and the balance between work and play.

According to Jeffrey B. Snipes, chair of the criminal justice department, Davis was a valuable asset in the classroom and showed potential for success.

“I had the pleasure of having Garret in two of my classes in fall 2004. Not only was he an excellent student, but his enthusiasm and always upbeat attitude made for a great classroom experience for everyone,” Snipes said. “He was a very conscientious person, and I knew that he would make an excellent police officer. It is so unfortunate that his life has ended at such an early age.”

Another fraternity brother, Matthew Schneider, also remembers Davis this way.

“He was a very kind and respectful young man who smiled a lot, so I was not surprised to learn a few years ago that he had become a police officer,” Schneider said.

The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity alumni organized a fund to help out with travel and funeral costs for his family, according to Cohlan.

Within two hours they were able to raise $1,000, and they have raised more than $4,000 as of Jan. 26.

The money collected will also be placed in a fund to aid his 3 ½ year old daughter, Mackenzie.

According to Stevens, the daughter hasn’t been told about her father’s fate.

“Her mother feels that she is too young to comprehend what is going on and too young to understand the magnitude of what’s happened,” Stevens said. “When she eventually does ask who her father was, she is going to know that she was the apple of her father’s eye, that he loved her very very much. We are making a scrapbook with people that knew him to write letters to her so that as she grows up, she can know what an amazing man her father was.”

There will be a memorial service in Honolulu, Hawaii Feb. 7 and another one Feb. 11 in Sacramento, Calif.

The family requests that funeral donations are made to their website.

Davis is survived by his sister, Amanda Stevens; his mother, Rhonda Davis; and his daughter, Mackenzie.

Additional reporting by Jessica Schimm.