Family, community honor fallen Fort Worth police officer exactly 2 years after death
On Monday night, Fort Worth police officers, members of the community and other law enforcement agencies held a candlelight vigil in honor of an officer who was killed in the line of duty exactly two years ago.
Speakers remembered Corporal Garrett Hull as someone who sacrificed himself for others and was an exemplary police officer. He left behind two daughters, who are in now in college, and his wife, Sabrina Hull.
Hull’s friends and family, family members of other fallen officers, Mayor Betsy Price, Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus and Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn were among the crowd.
“When we say, ‘You are never forgotten as a police officer,’ we mean it, don’t we?” Mark Pavaro said at the vigil, which was held at Fort Worth police headquarters and live-streamed on Facebook. “I mean, here we are two years later, proving to the families of our fallen officers that you are not forgotten.”
Hull, 41, was killed in the line of duty in September 2018. He was shot on Sept. 14 by Dacion Steptoe, 23, one of three suspects that Hull and other law enforcement officers were watching in connection with a string of armed robberies at Hispanic bars and cantinas, police have said.
Price, who spoke at the event, recalled how Fort Worth officers talked with her at the hospital when he was shot. The officers told her about Hull’s leadership, joking nature and inspiring nature.
“It’s a reminder of the bravery. And it must be a reminder in today’s climate for each and every one of us who take it for granted of the bravery that all of who you put on a uniform or a badge, or both, show every day when you step out that door,” Price said. “It’s why we continue to support our officers and we must change the rhetoric nationally.”
Hull’s best friend, Matt Johnson, also spoke to the crowd. He said he and Hull were friends for 20 years, and Monday night was the first time he was able to publicly talk about his friend’s death. He recalled his friend’s big heart and love for barbecue, and he thanked the Fort Worth police department for its support.
Hull’s death
The two other suspects involved in the string of robberies were later identified as Timothy Huff, 33, and Samuel Mayfield, 33.
The night of Sept. 14., Hull and other officers were following the suspects for surveillance when two of the men went into the back patio of a bar and started to rob patrons, the FBI said.
The uniformed officers took positions around the vehicle. Huff, Steptoe and Mayfield ran out of the bar and toward their parked SUV, but when they saw officers, they turned and ran in different directions, according to the FBI.
In the ensuring pursuit, Steptoe shot and killed Hull. Another officer shot Steptoe, who was later pronounced dead.
Hull served 17 years with the Fort Worth Police Department in the Special Response Team, the Narcotics Division, the Tactical Intelligence Division and the FBI task force.
Huff and Mayfield were charged with capital murder in connection with Hull’s death. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty, according to court records.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 10:04 PM.
