cyberpol99
06-06-2000, 10:12 AM
Farewell to a fallen officer
By Jason Spencer
American-Statesman Staff
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
KILLEEN -- Four-year-old Adrianna Jones stood before 700 law officers gathered in final tribute to her father Monday afternoon and asked a simple, heartbreaking question: "Where's Daddy?"
From his seat near slain Austin Park Police officer William Jones' flag-draped casket, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson heard the child's words and looked for inspiration in her father's sacrifice.
"We can answer that question for her (in) the way we interact with people, and the way we touch people, and by taking on a little bit of that soul for service that officer Jones had demonstrated so well," Watson said after the funeral.
A miles-long line of patrol cars and motorcycles, emergency lights flashing, escorted Jones from Grace Christian Center in Austin to the Killeen Memorial Park cemetery. Seven officers fired a rifle salute, and the sound of taps echoed from a lone bugler stationed below a flag flying at half-staff at the memorial park mausoleum.
Jones, a 49-year-old Army veteran, leaves behind his wife, Jean Wright, their two young children, two adult sons who live in Houston and a stepson.
Officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies from Galveston to Lubbock formed a silent, flashing motorcade that wound through the Central Texas hills from Austin to Killeen early Monday morning -- a final trail of lights for the officer who cherished the annual Christmas light festival at Zilker Park.
Before leaving Austin, the procession of about 250 patrol cars and motorcycles drove past the spot on Robert E. Lee Road where a wanted felon shot and killed Jones during a May 28 daylight traffic stop.
The gunman, 28-year-old Allen Padron of Victoria, shot himself in the head after a police chase that ended near Houston. Padron, wanted on a rape charge in his hometown, shot Jones twice in the chest and once in the neck.
"We're here to show respect and unity for a fellow officer. It's the law enforcement code of honor," said Sgt. Greg Fremin of the Houston Police Department. "Whether it be in Omaha, Nebraska, or Key West, Florida, it hits us all."
Along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), temporarily shut down to let the funeral procession pass, morning commuters paused to show respect for the fallen officer.
A man in a suit stood beside his car to salute the grieving officers. A mile farther, a woman in a business suit stood with her hand on her heart. On overpasses, firefighters stood at attention outside their trucks while the motorcade passed below.
Park Police Sgt. Jos
By Jason Spencer
American-Statesman Staff
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
KILLEEN -- Four-year-old Adrianna Jones stood before 700 law officers gathered in final tribute to her father Monday afternoon and asked a simple, heartbreaking question: "Where's Daddy?"
From his seat near slain Austin Park Police officer William Jones' flag-draped casket, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson heard the child's words and looked for inspiration in her father's sacrifice.
"We can answer that question for her (in) the way we interact with people, and the way we touch people, and by taking on a little bit of that soul for service that officer Jones had demonstrated so well," Watson said after the funeral.
A miles-long line of patrol cars and motorcycles, emergency lights flashing, escorted Jones from Grace Christian Center in Austin to the Killeen Memorial Park cemetery. Seven officers fired a rifle salute, and the sound of taps echoed from a lone bugler stationed below a flag flying at half-staff at the memorial park mausoleum.
Jones, a 49-year-old Army veteran, leaves behind his wife, Jean Wright, their two young children, two adult sons who live in Houston and a stepson.
Officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies from Galveston to Lubbock formed a silent, flashing motorcade that wound through the Central Texas hills from Austin to Killeen early Monday morning -- a final trail of lights for the officer who cherished the annual Christmas light festival at Zilker Park.
Before leaving Austin, the procession of about 250 patrol cars and motorcycles drove past the spot on Robert E. Lee Road where a wanted felon shot and killed Jones during a May 28 daylight traffic stop.
The gunman, 28-year-old Allen Padron of Victoria, shot himself in the head after a police chase that ended near Houston. Padron, wanted on a rape charge in his hometown, shot Jones twice in the chest and once in the neck.
"We're here to show respect and unity for a fellow officer. It's the law enforcement code of honor," said Sgt. Greg Fremin of the Houston Police Department. "Whether it be in Omaha, Nebraska, or Key West, Florida, it hits us all."
Along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), temporarily shut down to let the funeral procession pass, morning commuters paused to show respect for the fallen officer.
A man in a suit stood beside his car to salute the grieving officers. A mile farther, a woman in a business suit stood with her hand on her heart. On overpasses, firefighters stood at attention outside their trucks while the motorcade passed below.
Park Police Sgt. Jos