In Remembrance: Police Department joins statewide call to honor fallen Trooper

With a gray sky, windy weather and some rain, the Brownsville Police Department and Department of Public Safety Troopers lined up their vehicles and flashed their lights for exactly one minute outside of the Brownsville PD station in the downtown area to honor fallen Trooper Chad Walker on Thursday.

Police departments and DPS troopers throughout the State of Texas joined this moment of silence after Governor Greg Abbott issued a statewide call to honor Trooper Walker and all officers in Texas by turning on their red and blue lights for a minute at 1 p.m. Thursday.

“ Our hearts are with the family and friends of Trooper Walker as they grieve his tragic death in the line of duty,” Governor Abbott said in the press release.

“ Trooper Walker’s horrific murder is a solemn reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face every day to keep our communities safe. We will always support law enforcement here in Texas, and we are indebted to the sacrifices that they make to serve and protect their fellow Texans.”

Walker was shot during a traffic stop in Mexia, Texas, on March 26 while stopping to help a driver in an apparently disabled vehicle.

The Associated Press reported that Walker, according to authorities, had not yet come to a stop behind the vehicle on the shoulder of the roadway when a man who police identified as 37-year-old DeArthur Pinson got out of the disabled vehicle and opened fire.

Walker was struck in the head and abdomen and was later flown to a hospital in Waco where he succumbed to his wounds Wednesday after he was taken off life support.

“ Our DPS family is absolutely heartbroken at the loss of one of our brothers in uniform who was killed in the line of duty,” DPS Director Steven McCraw said in a statement announcing Walker’s death.

“ Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Chad Walker was committed to protecting the people of Texas. His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and we ask that you keep his family, friends and colleagues in your prayers during the difficult days ahead.”

Walker had been a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2015. Since the shooting, more than $230,000 has been donated to Walker’s family on a GoFundMe campaign to assist with the family’s medical expenses.

According to the GoFundMe, Walker left behind a wife, a 15-year-old son, 7-year-old twins and a two-month-old daughter.

“ The law enforcement is a brotherhood,” Carlos Zamorano, a lieutenant with the Brownsville PD, said. “Regardless of what location you work for, we all look out for each other.”

Zamorano said he hopes the family of Trooper Walker finds strength in Christ and that he was a man of honor representing the state with his uniform.

“ If one gets hurt at one end of the state or one end the country, it hurts us here as well,” he said.

“ We have to show solidarity.”

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