HOLDENVILLE — The Oklahoma Department of Corrections announced Thursday that the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville will be renamed to honor a fallen correctional officer.
Beginning Oct. 1, the prison will be known as the Allen Gamble Correctional Center.
Sgt. Joe Allen Gamble Jr., who went by Allen, lost his life at the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite on June 5, 2000, after a coworker, Officer William Callaway, sent a distress call. Callaway was attacked by an inmate and stabbed 13 times. He was able to escape the dayroom safely before Gamble entered, according to a press release.
Not knowing Callaway was safe, Gamble answered the distress call. Entering the dayroom, he was ambushed by the inmate and was stabbed twice in his neck. He left the dayroom to seek medical treatment but later died.
“It is an honor to rename this facility in recognition of Sgt. Gamble who gave his life for his coworker, the agency and its mission,” said ODOC Executive Director Steven Harpe. “The memorialization of his sacrifice is highly warranted.”
A former Air Force serviceman from Texas, Gamble began his corrections career in October 1997. He left behind a wife, Sherri, three sons, a stepson, and many close friends.
A dedication ceremony will be held Oct. 6. Gov. Kevin Stitt also signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 6 Joe Allen Gamble Jr. Day in Oklahoma.
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