Memorial Erected to Recognize Fallen Officer

Fallen First Responders killed while on duty now have something to show for. The memorial program is the brainchild of Austin police Officer Jason Huskins, who learned of the Austin officers who had fallen in the line of duty as part of his training through the police academy.

"Ninety-five percent of people who drive through here don't know," Huskins says, looking out at the corner. "Now, hopefully, that will change."

Each memorial is 20 inches wide and 6 inches thick and will bear an Austin Police shield and list the officer's name and last day of service, along with information about him or her and how the officer was killed. The memorial will be placed as close as possible to where the officer was killed.

Huskins found support for the idea through Rockdale Memorial Co., which has built similar memorials for Texas Department of Public Safety officers. The company is donating the memorials for the Austin program. Twenty Austin police officers have died in the line of duty since 1875.

In a few cases where it's not possible to erect the large memorial, a plaque will be placed near where an officer died, Huskins said.

"As time passes, the general public tends to forget, but the family, the officers, they remember," Huskins said. Now, they can remember and "it serves as a place for the family to come."

Velma Hunter-Gonzales, a 100 Club of Central Texas Board Member, quietly wiped tears flowing beneath her sunglasses after witnessing a crew erect a 5-foot-4-inch-tall gray granite memorial to honor of her son, Clint Hunter.

"It's things like this that help us remember he will not be forgotten," said Colleen Hunter-Gaudreau , Hunter's widow, who has since remarried and lives with her husband, daughter Mikayla, and 2-month-old and 2-year-old boys in Cedar Park.

cgrisales@statesman.com, 912-5933