Agencies from across the state attended a ceremony Sunday in Austin to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. In the past two years, 43 police officers, deputy constables, sheriff's deputies and federal officers have died in Texas.
"Although the heroes we celebrate are no longer with us, their memories and their legacies live on," Governor Greg Abbott said at the Texas Peace Officers Memorial.
"By being here, we show our appreciation for their heroism and recognize our safety, our freedom and prosperity are bought with a price," says Thomas Brown, president of the Texas Municipal Police Association. "The price is paid by the law enforcement officers who stand between us and danger."
In addition to 43 officers who have died in the line of duty, 89 others have died from COVID-19.
"You are now all in a club we did not sign up for," said Valerie Zamarripa, mother of Patrick Zamarripa, one of the police officers killed in Downtown Dallas July 7, 2016. "Please know you are not alone. No matter what the question may be, the silliest, most complicated, the smallest or the biggest, I could count, and still can, on all our survivors around me."
Of the 43 officers who have died in the line of duty in the past two years, four were from North Texas: Grand Prairie Police Officer A.J. Castaneda Jr., The Colony Police Sergeant David Jones Fitzpatrick, Frisco police cadet Christopher Murray, and Denton County Deputy Constable M. Wayne Rhodes.
A complete list of fallen law enforcement officers is available at https://www.texaspeaceofficersmemorial.org/images/modules/2021_Texas_Peace_Officers_Memorial__Candlelight_Vigil_Program.pdf .
At the ceremony, Abbott called on the legislature to pass HB 1900. The measure would withhold tax revenue and freeze utility rates for cities that cut police funding, limit funding for overtime or training, or cut the number of officers.
"We honor, and we support our law enforcement officers," Abbott said. "Any city that tries to de-fund police, they need to be de-funded because it is idiotic to harm or de-fund our police, and we are not going to tolerate it."