Fifty law enforcement officers and firefighters are getting the Star of Texas award. Governor Greg Abbott held a ceremony at the Texas Capitol this morning to honor the group which includes 23 first responders killed in the line of duty. The others were wounded on the job. The governor praised the 50 for repeatedly putting their lives on the line and demonstrating courage and character. The Star of Texas award was created in 2003 to recognize law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs who made profound commitments while on duty.
The 2019 recipients of the Star of Texas Awards are:
Fire Fighters Killed in the Line of Duty
- Daniel Edward Hampton – Burnet Fire Department
- Larry Grant Dalton – Dallas Fire-Rescue Department
- Marco Antonio Davila – Dallas Fire-Rescue Department
- Jeffery Lee Delbert – Dallas Fire-Rescue Department
- Charlie Jaimes – Dallas Fire-Rescue Department
- Thomas M. Johnson – Dallas Fire-Rescue Department
- Scott Deem – San Antonio Fire Department
Peace Officers Killed in the Line of Duty
- Earl J. Givens, III – Dallas Police Department
- Garrett W. Hull – Fort Worth Police Department
- Albert Castaneda, Jr. – Grand Prairie Police Department
- Nathan Hayden Heidelberg – Midland Police Department
- Raymond Bradley Jimmerson – Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office
- Mark Allen Cox – Real County Sheriff’s Office
- Korby Lee Kennedy – San Angelo Police Department
- Moises Sanchez – Texas Department of Public Safety
- David Jones Fitzpatrick – The Colony Police Department
- Timothy Gerard Olsovsky – Victoria County Sheriff’s Office
- Donna Doss – U.S. Customs And Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol
- Norman Merkel – U.S. Department Of Justice, U.S. Marshals Service
- Loren Y. Vasquez – Waller County Sheriff’s Office
- Lonnie Verdell Burton – Wayland Baptist University Police Department
- Alejandro “Alex” Martinez – Willacy County Sheriff’s Office
- Jason Matthew Fann – Yoakum County Sheriff’s Office
Emergency Medical First Responders Seriously Injured in the Line of Duty
- Steven Ray Holden – U.S. Army
Fire Fighters Seriously Injured in the Line of Duty
- Brad Jay Phipps – San Antonio Fire Department
Peace Officers Seriously Injured in the Line of Duty
- Christopher S. Fegley – Arlington Police Department
- Alejandro "Alex" Quintanilla – Arlington Police Department
- Derek Baroody – Austin Police Department
- Luis E. Farias – City of Benavides Police Department
- Justin Todd Ellis – Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department
- Troy Lee Allison – Dallas Police Department
- Brannon Germald Barber – Dallas Police Department
- Javier Leyva – Ector County Sheriff’s Office
- Steven John McNeill – Ector County Sheriff’s Office
- Joshua Devin Pool – Ector County Sheriff’s Office
- Ricardo Rodriguez – Ector County Sheriff’s Office
- Cody Smith – Ector County Sheriff’s Office
- Calvin Gustav Lehmann – Fayette County Sheriff’s Department
- Christopher Gaines – Harris County Constable Precinct 4
- John Daily – Houston Police Department
- Luis Fuhlbrigge – Houston Police Department
- Nestor Garcia – Houston Police Department
- Alonzo Reid – Houston Police Department
- Matthew Victor Richard – Houston Police Department
- Elie Weston Van Horn – Port Arthur Police Department
- Claudia Ivette Cormier – San Marcos Police Department
- Justin Ray Holt – Silsbee Police Department
- Wesley C. Hensley – Texas Attorney General’s Office
- Travares L. Webb – Texas Department of Public Safety
- Henry Jennings Gilles – Trinity County Sheriff’s Office