Covington Police Officer Caleb Daniel Ogilvie responded to a call from Covington Farm & Fuel where an exchange of gunfire between Officer Ogilvie, 35, and Toney S. Poulston, Jr., 42, resulted in both men dying from their exchange of gunfire.
Poulston ran out of Covington Farm & Fuel after shooting to death his relative, Randall Lee Paxton, 64. Both men were from Covington.
The shootings took place at about 4:30 p.m. at the business where Paxton and his wife were employed.
Officer Ogilvie, a native of Chicago, was a resident of Selma where he left behind his two daughters, Emersyn, 5, and Wrenley, 3, along with his wife Natasha Grady Ogilvie.
A former U.S. Marine, Ogilvie attended EMT American National University from 2011-2014.
He gained experience working as an EMT for the City of Roanoke in 2016.
On his “Facebook” page Caleb had posted: “Forget failure, Forget mistakes, Forget Everything except what you’re going to do now.”
Covington Chief of Police Christopher Smith held a news conference at 2:00 p.m. on March 15 as Natasha stood between Smith and Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall.
Chief Smith praised his fallen officer and announced that a procession of police and first responders would leave Roanoke to return Officer Ogilvie to Nicely Funeral Home in Clifton Forge.
He and Hall consoled Natasha and held a moment of silence in the fallen officer’s memory and honor.
During his comments, Chief Smith, “I did not think that I would ever have to deal with a situation like this.”
Officer Ogilvie is the first policeman to be killed in the line of duty in the City of Covington.
No questions were taken following Chief Smith’s presentation, and the procession from Roanoke arrived in Clifton Forge at 3:00 p.m. where the streets were lined with hundreds of citizens who came to pay their respects.
A huge American flag attached to a firetruck’s ladder waved in the breeze on the sunny day as the mile-long procession of police cars and first responders’ vehicles passed Kroger’s parking lot where a large crowd had gathered.
As the procession passed Mountain View Cemetery, the flag there was flying at half staff.
Governor Glenn Younkin has ordered flags to be flown at half staff until after the memorial service for Officer Ogilvie is held on Sat., March 19, at noon, at Nicely Funeral Home.
According to the Virginia State Police, law enforcement was called due to Poulston’s disorderly behavior inside Covington Farm & Fuel where he eventually shot to death Paxton before running out of the store while brandishing his pistol.
After the hail of gunfire took place, both Ogilvie and Poulston lay dead outside the business while Paxton who was mortally wounded lay inside the store.
