AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott, other lawmakers and law enforcement gathered Sunday to honor fallen Texas officers in a memorial.
The "Texas Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony" was held at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at House Park in Austin. The ceremony was held to honor Texas officers who died in the line of duty in 2019 and 2020.
The event began with a law enforcement procession along Shoal Creek Boulevard, which then led into the ceremony at House Park Field, and concluded with a candlelight vigil.
Here is a list of all of the Texas officers being honored:
- Christopher David Murray, Frisco Police Department
- Norman D. Merkel, US Marshal’s Service
- Ray E. Horn, III, Comal County Sheriff’s Office
- Russell Dean “Rusty” Salazar, Kendall County
Community Supervision and Corrections Department - Donna Marie Moss, US Customs and Border Protection
- Nathan Hayden Heidelberg, Midland Police Department
- Albert “AJ” Castaneda, Jr., Grand Prairie Police Department
- David Jones Fitzpatrick, The Colony Police Department
- Jose Luis “Speedy” Espericueta, Jr., Mission Police Department
- Carlos A. Ramirez, Kendall County Sheriff’s Office
- Jose Luis Blancarte, Kinney County Sheriff’s Office
- Moises Sanchez, Texas Dept. of Public Safety
- Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, Harris County Sheriff’s Office
- Matthew Ryan Jones, Falls County Sheriff’s Office
- Christopher Charles Lewis Brewster, Houston Police Department
- Kaila Marie Sullivan, Nassau Bay Police Department
- Bryan Charles Pfluger, San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office
- Clifton J. Martinez, San Antonio ISD Police Department
- William Christopher Dickerson, Panola County Sheriff’s Office
- Nicholas Lee Reyna, Lubbock Police Department
- Alan Daniel McCollum, Corpus Christi Police Department
- Richard E. Whitten, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
- Christopher Scott Korzilius, Travis County Sheriff’s Office
- Amanda L. De Leon, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Justin Read Putnam, San Marcos Police Department
- Jonathon Keith Goodman, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Akbar N. Shabazz, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- John Andrew Rhoden, Bell County Sheriff’s Office
- Coy D. Coffman, Jr., Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- James D. Coleman, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Jason M. Knox, Houston Police Department
- Caleb Daniel Rule, Fort Bend County Constable’s Office, Precinct 4
- Ismael Z. Chavez, McAllen Police Department
- Edelmiro Garza, Jr., McAllen Police Department
- N. Kyle Coleman, Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office
- Sheena Dae Yarbrough-Powell, Beaumont Police Department
- Walterio Rodriguez, Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- James W. Weston, Jr., Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- Peter John Herrera, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
- Lemuel Delray “DJ” Bruce, Jr., Houston Fire Marshal’s Office
- Harold Lloyd Preston, Houston Police Department
- Sean Sebastian Rios, Houston Police Department
- M. Wayne Rhodes, Denton County Constable’s Office, Precinct 2
PHOTOS: Fallen Texas officers remembered with memorial in Austin
Abbott delivered the keynote address at the event.
"These courageous men and women ... they gave their lives for a reason and that's so that all of us could be safe," Abbott said. "And I can assure you ... we will never forget their heroism."
Abbott also presented medals and resolutions to family members of those fallen officers.
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