STAR-TELEGRAM/JEFFERY WASHINGTON
A man suspected of shooting a Fort Worth officer at a mobile
home near Eagle Mountain Lake is taken into custody Tuesday.
Posted on 11/30/2005 6:04:56 PM PST by Dubya
STAR-TELEGRAM/JEFFERY WASHINGTON
A man suspected of shooting a Fort Worth officer at a mobile
home near Eagle Mountain Lake is taken into custody Tuesday.
Prayer sent
HENRY NAVA
Good looking young man.
My prayers for his complete recovery as well as for his family and friends.
Nov. 30, 2005
Police offer praise, prayers for wounded colleague
By ALEX BRANCH
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
FORT WORTH -- Hank Nava has all the attributes of a great police officer, colleagues say.
Bright, friendly and outgoing, Nava was universally trusted when he patrolled the Rosemont neighborhood as a community police officer in the 1990s, said retired Fort Worth police officer Stoney Burks.
"He's always really compassionate with people," said Burks, who worked with Nava for five years.
"He was good at connecting with people and showing them that they could trust him. He has always had those qualities."
Burks is now among the many former and current Fort Worth officers praying for their friend's life.
Nava, 39, was in critical condition Tuesday night after being shot in the head while searching for a fugitive in northwest Fort Worth. He remained in grave condition Wednesday.
Nava is married and has a daughter, 9, and a son, 4.
He joined the Fort Worth police in 1992 after three years as a police officer in the Austin area, according to computer records.
He left in 1999 for a five-month stint with the Plano police but returned to the Fort Worth force.
Nava has been a community police officer, a school resource officer and, most recently, on the North Division Crime Response Team, said Lt. Dean Sullivan, a police spokesman. He's also one of the department's bilingual officers.
"Officer Nava's dedication is exemplified through his actions today," Sullivan said. "He is a stellar professional."
Officers flooded Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital throughout the evening. Sullivan estimated that as many as 200 officers were waiting in an auditorium for word on Nava's condition.
One of them, Lt. Marty Salinas, called Nava a good, hard-working officer.
"He's a great guy," said Salinas, shaking his head as he opened the door to his patrol car.
"You just wonder why these things happen."
Mayor Mike Moncrief, who fought back tears while talking to reporters outside the hospital, said Nava has had a distinguished career with the police force.
"As you can see by the number of officers here ... he had a lot of respect from his comrades," Moncrief said. "He's certainly a part of the family of Fort Worth."
Burks said Nava often goes beyond the call of duty. He and Nava spent hours working with Explorer Post 58, a police-mentoring program for young people.
Together, they took the explorers to a national competition in Atlanta and won a trophy, he said.
"He was great at training the kids," Burks said. "He got really involved with them and was committed to excellence. He can relate to people young and old."
Police work has also exposed Nava to some of the city's most senseless violence. Nava was among the officers who responded when a gunman opened fire at the Wedgwood Baptist Church in 1999.
A week after the shooting, Nava was quoted in a Star-Telegram story about the impact of the carnage authorities saw inside the church.
"How do you relate to what happened that night?" Nava said. "It will take awhile to get past this. ...We can't let this incident make us hostages because when God wants you, he will take you."
Alex Branch, (817) 390-7689
abranch@star-telegram.com
praying for an improvement.
Prayers done.
Any bets on how long before the brady bunch tries to blame the gun instead of the scumbag on parol in possesion of a gun?
This is why we love K9s for building searches.
Dear Lord,
Bring this young hero back to good health, be with his family and guide us through these troubled times.
In the name of your blessed Son,
Amen
My prayers continue for Officer Henry "Hank" Nava and his family. God's healing and protection for Officer Nava...God's comfort for his family.
Dubya - Thank you for the ping
Blessings,
trussell
If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.
---Praying for the officer and his family. God Bless you all.
Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Police Department
Police booking photo of Stephen Lance Heard, 39, suspecting of
shooting Fort Worth Police officer Henry (Hank) Nava Tuesday afternoon.
Nov. 30, 2005
Mom: Gunman says he thought officer was a robber
By DEANNA BOYD
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The parolee accused of critically wounding a Fort Worth police officer told his mother Wednesday morning that he fired because he thought he was being robbed.
"He didn’t realize it was a policeman. He was in plain clothes," said Deloris Pulce of Texarkana, describing what her son, Stephen Heard, told her in a phone call.
Pulce said she didn’t buy her son’s explanation.
"They always say what they want you to hear," she said. "He had no business having a gun. He’s on parole."
Police documents say that police officer Henry "Hank" Nava and two other officers were wearing "black raid-type jackets with the word POLICE prominently displayed on both the front and back" when they entered a home near Eagle Mountain Lake.
A woman at the home "turned and stated ... that the police were coming inside to search the residence," the documents state.
Nava was shot in the head after he opened the door to a bedroom and told his fellow officers that Heard was inside.
Pulce said Heard, the oldest of four children, is a drug addict who has wasted numerous opportunities to clean up his life.
"He was raised up in a Christian home. He knows right from wrong," she said. "I told him this morning that you need to pray for that police officer, that he doesn’t die, and (that) he’s all right.
"He said, 'I have been.'"
Heard was booked into the Mansfield Jail on Wednesday morning and has been arraigned on charges of attempted capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
You and Horatio are already here; pinging a couple more for prayers.
Texas ping.
My prayers also sent for Officer Nava. May God heal, bless and comfort him and his loved ones.
One more.......
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