Served from 8-20-84 to 7-3-93
Assignment at time of death-Tactical Operations
On July 3, 1993, at 1:28 A.M., Officer Glenn Homs was dispatched to a call of a cow in the roadway westbound State Highway 114, approximately one-half mile east of Belt Line Road. Officer Homs arrived and found the cow had been struck and was dead in the roadway. Homs was standing in the outside lane of 114 near the shoulder when a vehicle drove through the flare line and struck him. At 1:37 A.M., a citizen called over the police radio to report the officer lying in the roadway. Officer Homs was found in the center lane approximately 300 feet west of the point of impact and it was reported that the vehicle that struck him fled the scene without stopping. Officer Homs died just over an hour later at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. The vehicle that struck Officer Homs was last seen northbound on Belt Line Road and a short time later Coppell Police located a vehicle that had struck a railroad crossing signal box and was stopped on the railroad tracks. The 28 year old driver (from Arlington, Texas) was arrested and evidence gathered at that scene connected him with the fatal accident involving Officer Homs. Charges of involuntary manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid were filed and a guilty pleas was accepted on both. At sentencing, he received the maximum sentence of ten years for the hit-and-run death of Officer Homs and a concurrent five year sentence for the charge of Failure to Stop and Render Aid.
The unthinkable had happened and though we all knew it was a possibility, we had been able to "conveniently" tuck that thought away and not dwell on it. Officer Homs was the first Irving Police Officer killed in the line of duty and as any department that has lost an officer knows, this loss struck a blow to the very core of our "police family". The Homs family, though grieving their loss of Glenn, gave the following statement that ultimately shows the character and caring that Glenn learned and emulated in his life:
"The sudden and untimely loss of a member of our family has been devastating to all of us. Glenn, in each role he filled, as son, father, husband and brother, was exceptional. His passing has left a void, an emptiness that can never be filled. Glenn loved being a police officer, devoted to his job, as well as our family. We are trying to make some sense of why Glenn was taken from us. He had a full life in front of him, which we had looked forward to sharing with him. The family would like to express their thanks and appreciation for the kindness and goodwill extended to us from everyone."
Glenn's father and mother maintain contact and a close relationship with our department to this day and Glenn's wife, who was dispatching the night he was killed, continues her work with the Irving Police Department.
Officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins #830
Served from 10-4-99 to 12-24-00
Assignment at time of death - Patrol Division
On December 24, 2000, at 6:29 P.M., Officer Aubrey Hawkins was dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call at the Oshman's Sporting Goods Store at State Highway 183 and Belt Line Road. Officer Hawkins took the call from a restaurant less than one mile away where he had just finished eating Christmas Eve dinner with his wife, Lori, his son, his mother and grandmother. Aubrey arrived before any other units and approached from the north entrance from the service road. He drove through the parking lot looking at the front of the business then around the south side to the rear of the building. As he made it to the west side loading dock area and entered the driveway, he came under a barrage of gunfire without warning and had no time to take evasive or defensive ac
tion. Mortally wounded, Officer Hawkins was pulled from his squad car and run over by the killers. What had begun as a suspicious circumstance call turned out to be a robbery-in-progress committed by seven dangerous and violent escaped prisoners (known as the Texas 7) from the Texas Department of Corrections Facility in Huntsville, Texas, earlier that month. It was later learned that a lookout to the east of the store had seen his approach and warned the others causing them to abandon the numerous store employees that were huddled together, and bound, inside the store. Officer Hawkins' arrival to the dock area had coincided with the exit, from the building, of the escaped convicts providing them with an overwhelming advantage. Following the murder of Officer Hawkins, international media coverage followed the largest manhunt in Texas history. The manhunt ended in January 2001 in the communities of Woodland Park and Colorado Springs, Colorado, with the suicide of one escapee and the nonviolent capture of the other six after law enforcement located and descended upon them. The cold-blooded murder of Officer Hawkins on Christmas Eve tore at the very fabric of law, order and decency. The chaos, sorrow, and heartbreak created in the lives of his loved ones and the community has healed somewhat over time, but the scars of that tragic holiday season and Aubrey's memory will not be forgotten. With these words and feelings that Lori wrote, you can judge for yourself the void the world has due to the loss of Officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins:
www.cityofirving.org"He was the kind of father that all the kids in our neighborhood wanted to be around. The love and relationship between Aubrey and Andrew is indescribable. It was a relationship that most parents could only dream of having. The 9-year-old little boy was Aubrey's pride and joy. They were "buddies". It breaks my heart that Aubrey will never get to see Andrew grow up to be the man he always taught him to be. Aubrey was the kind of son who worried about his mom living alone. He always looked out for her and made sure she was safe. He truly loved her from the bottom of his heart. Aubrey was a loving and devoted husband. He was my best friend. He made me laugh when nobody else could. His face would "light-up" every time I walked into a room. Never again will I hear him come home and yell throughout the house . . . "Where's my girl?" Never again will I feel his big arms wrapped around me and his kiss on my forehead."