Published: May 16, 2008 07:09 pm            

Gone, never forgotten

One year to the day of an unthinkable loss, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department is finding a way to move on

They’re as present as the warm spring air.

One year after the fatal shootings of Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Paul Habelt and Deputy Tony Ogburn — and the wounding of Deputy Kevin Harris — memories of May 17, 2007, are still fresh within the department.

The just-concluded trial of gunman Randall Wayne Mays — sentenced to die earlier this week for Ogburn’s slaying — further stirred recollections of the standoff in Payne Springs, which happened one year ago Saturday.

“We were glad to get the trial behind us,” Henderson County Sheriff Ronny Brownlow said. “But the shootings are something we won’t totally put behind us. We’ll be reminded that two of our own were taken from us.”

Brownlow said he is proud of the way his officers responded to the events that surrounded the shootings, including the arrest of Mays. A videotape of the event taken from the dashboard camera in a squad car revealed a stunning scene that supports Brownlow’s claim: officers, shocked and angry over the deaths of their two fallen friends, restrained themselves as Mays turned himself in to authorities that day. The bodies of their fallen comrades were still on the ground.

“I’ve known for the past 12 years that this department is well trained,” Brownlow said. “They’ve never shown it more than after the tragedy last May.”

Henderson County had never seen two law officers shot to death on the same day. Brownlow said that was tough for anyone in law enforcement to deal with.

“For some of the young officers, it was their first introduction to the reality and finality of what can happen in this profession. It was shown to them first hand,” Brownlow said. “It was a good feeling to see them rally around each other.”

Lt. Dan Parker was Habelt’s supervisor. His first thoughts on the day of the shooting darted to earlier in the day, when he was standing next to Habelt at the annual Peace Officer’s Memorial observance.

“I was on my way trying to get to them when the chief deputy told me, ‘Paul and Tony are dead,’” Parker recalled. “It just took the air out of me. I could remember me and Paul standing side by side talking.”

In the months that followed after the funerals and public observances, the grief became a private thing for Parker.

“Everybody dealt with it in their own way,” Parker said. “For some it was in the group sessions. Some dealt with it individually. I fell back on my faith.”

Parker said the officers at the scene were understandably the most affected.

“To them, it was a life changing experience that will never go away,” Parker said.

Deputy Billy Jack Valentine, a key witness in the trial against Mays and current president of the county Peace Officer’s Association, testified he doesn’t go hunting anymore unless it’s for his kids. The sound of the rifle going off, he said, still haunts him.

“I don’t even want to come to work anymore,” he testified, “but I do because they’re my family.”

Parker said his investigators have responded to the challenge and maintained a high standard of performance.

“I won’t say we’re back to normal because we’ll never be the same as we were before they were killed,” Parker said. “I’ll say overall, everyone has tried to move forward. They know they’re doing what they do for the sake of the people of the county.”

Parker said the officers have a heightened sense of the dangers that accompany them while performing their day to day duties.

“It’s made them a little more cautious. Everyone listens close,” he said. “When they hear some type of call on the radio, even if it’s one they might not have thought much about before, now they pay more attention to the small details of what might be going on.”

And they remember.

        

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