Tulare County Sheriff's Deputy killed in the line of duty...

Discussion in 'Other News' started by GuysLady, Dec 20, 2007.

  1. GuysLady

    GuysLady Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    Sheriff's detective killed in shooting
    Kent Haws was a 10-year TCSO veteran; suspect arrested
    By David Castellon
    dcastell@visalia.gannett.com

    [​IMG] Post Comment Authorities have arrested an Ivanhoe man in the fatal shooting of Tulare County sheriff's detective Kent Haws. Jorge Gomez Banda, 20, was arrested and booked at the Tulare County Sheriff’s Main Jail Facility on suspicion of homicide.


    But exactly what led to the shooting that killed Haws, 38, a married father of three young children, Sheriff Bill Wittman wouldn't disclose hours after the shooting that occurred north of Ivanhoe on Road 156 about a quarter mile north of Avenue 344. "It's obviously a very sad day here at the Sheriff's Department," Wittman said at a press conference at the department's headquarters in Visalia.

    "It appears there was some kind of suspicious person Detective Haws was checking out" about 1:30 p.m., he said. "[Haws] was in the area checking out a vehicle when he was apparently approached by an individual."
    The vehicle was on the west shoulder of Road 156, bordered on both sides of the road by orange groves.
    Wittman would not disclose details of the shooting, but did say that soon afterward, some passersby called sheriff's dispatchers to report that an officer was down.
    Haws was taken by ambulance to Kaweah Delta Hospital in Visalia where he died at 3:20 p.m., authorities said.
    He was the 11th Tulare County Sheriff's deputy to die in the line of duty and the first in more than 56 years to be shot to death.
    Seven died from being hit by cars or in traffic crashes, including the last one killed in the line of duty, Deputy Kevin Elium, who died in October 2005 after he lost control of the patrol car he was driving near Porterville. Deputy Carlo Johnson was the last deputy to die as a result of gunfire. He was shot during a gunfight with a car thief in July 1951 and died two months later. As for Monday's shooting, sheriff's officials indicated more than one shot was fired, but they wouldn't say if Haws — who would have marked his tenth year with the Sheriff's Department next month — fired his gun at all.

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    It has been confirmed that though his gun was drawn it had not been fired.
    Each and every day, the wives and families of these men live with the same basic fear of every trucker's wife. The phone call that tells you he will not be coming home. My heart goes out to his family and friends. I didn't know him personally, but I know he is the officer that kept an eye on the drivers who parked in and around Ivanhoe. We lost one who really did his best to make a difference in this world. A REAL difference. And it is all gone because one stupid gang banging punk decided to pull the trigger!
    He will be laid to rest tomorrow in the small town of Exeter CA, so if you are anywhere near there, please understand that the entire county is grieving a serious loss, and we will be having traffic issues.
     
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  3. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    This is extremely sad. I feel for his families loss.

    They are probably keeping alot of information quiet to eliminate any chance the guy will walk.

    I have many friends and family that wear the uniform.
     
  4. GuysLady

    GuysLady Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    Rumor has it that a teenage girl heard the shots, and ran out to see what was going on and found the officer shot and heard someone running. Risking her own safety, she dragged him under a tree and called 911 from her cell phone. Little did she know that others had seen the car and been suspicious and also called 911.

    I have alot of friends in the area in uniform, and while I didn't know him myself, it still hurts. You can bet your butt I will be in Exeter, on the procession route to pay my last respects.
     
  5. GuysLady

    GuysLady Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    Detective's funeral today
    By David Castellon
    dcastell@visalia.gannett.com

    [​IMG] Post Comment Several Visalia streets and even parts of Highway 198 will be closed this morning to accommodate the funeral procession for Tulare County Sheriff's Detective Kent Haws, who was shot and killed Monday.


    The procession could include up to 300 cars, California Highway Patrol Officer Brent Donley said. After the 10 a.m. funeral at Visalia's First Assembly of God Church, Akers Street and Caldwell Avenue, all eastbound lanes of 198 from Shirk Road to Road 180 near Exeter will be closed to regular traffic —as will the on-ramps to those lanes — for 15 minutes or more for the funeral procession to the burial service at the Exeter Cemetery, he said.

    The church service is expected to end between 11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Similarly, drivers who find themselves on the road in southeast Visalia in the late morning could find some of those roads blocked, Visalia Police Sgt. Bill Blankenship said.
    The streets around the church, where Haws' funeral is scheduled to start at 10 a.m., will stay open to traffic until the funeral ends.
    Then the eastbound lanes of Caldwell from Shirk to Akers streets will be closed as will the northbound lanes of Akers from Caldwell to the 198 on-ramp.
    No traffic will be allowed on or to cross the northbound lanes of Akers while the procession is moving, Blankenship said.
    "So what is important is that if people are going to go southbound on Akers, they have nowhere to go," he said. "Once they get to Caldwell, they'll be blocked completely."
    Haws was shot on a rural road north of Ivanhoe during an encounter with a man believed to have been preparing to steal a car. Sheriff's investigators have identified that man as Jorge Gomez Banda, 20, who has been arrested and charged with murder.
    Police expect about 1,500 cars carrying 2,000 to 3,000 people to be at First Assembly, which has a seating capacity of about 1,400.




    Between the procession heading to the cemetery and all the other cars leaving the church, portions of Caldwell and Akers could stay closed 45 minutes to an hour, Blankenship said.
    He added that drivers should avoid that area in the late morning to avoid having to detour or getting caught by the procession and other cars leaving the church.
    The funeral is expected to affect traffic to the east in Exeter, where Haws lived, as well.
    East Marinette Avenue near the cemetery will be closed from 8 a.m. until after the graveside service, probably about 1 p.m., said Exeter Police Lt. Kevin Wright.
    His department, along with the Sheriff's Department, Visalia police and the CHP, have been working to plan traffic and other issues related to Haws' funeral and burial services.
    One potential problem is that Thursday's rain storm may make some parking spaces at the cemetery too muddy to use.
    Monarch Ford in Exeter has offered to provide a shuttle van to take people to and from the cemetery if alternate parking spots are needed, Wright said.
    Merchants in Exeter, where Haws lived with his wife and three children, also were preparing Thursday for the funeral. The procession will go through Pine Street, the city's main retail district.
    "I was out letting the businesses [on Pine Street] know this was happening so I was warning the businesses to be prepared," as their street would be closed to regular traffic while the procession goes by, said Sandy Blankenship, executive director of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce.
    Blankenship — no relationship to Bill Blankenship — said she wanted the merchants to know that their vehicles could not be moved if they are parked on Pine when the funeral procession arrives.
    "Everyone's been very supportive. In fact, I've had very little resistance ... even though it is the Friday before Christmas" and the traffic blockage on Pine could affect business that day, she said.
    Blankenship said she also asked the business operators to step outside when the procession goes by to show support for Haws' family —"To let them know Exeter supports them."
    "I think we're all very saddened, and I don't think closing off the road will be any inconvenience," said Kristy Alves, owner of Hometown Emporium on Pine Street.
    Although she didn't know Haws, Alves said, "I know when the procession goes by that we will close our businesses for that time to show respect."
     
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