Angelina County remembers 6 fallen officers for Peace Officers Memorial Day

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - Six East Texas officers who died in the line of duty were honored tonight at the Angelina County Courthouse. This was part of Peace Officers Memorial Day.

“This serves as a reminder for those officers that there is a danger behind this job and to the community that what the officers are doing is dangerous,” JB Smith, the executive director of Crime Stoppers, said.

There was the sound of Taps and a 21-gun salute. The Angelina County community gathered to remember officers who had fallen in the line of service. Charles Lawrence, a Hudson ISD police officer, was there to honor Bryan Holley. Holley died in 2023.

“Bryan was one of those good ole boys, everybody loved Brian. He was like a brother to me. We had fun with each other, we had a good time,” Lawrence said.

Holley was performing his normal traffic duties at Bonner Elementary in Hudson when he had a medical emergency. He was given CPR and AED but died on the scene.

The street that connects Hudson ISD’s Peavy Primary and Bonner Elementary was named in his honor earlier this year.

“Everybody at the school loved him; all the kids loved him. He was just one of those guys who had a bubbly attitude,” Lawrence said.

Holley was the last officer added to the memorial that sits in front of the Angelina Courthouse. He’s there along with five more officers who also died while on duty in Angelina County. Those officers were Don H. Williams who served with the Angelina Co. Reserves, John E. Logan who served with the Huntington Police Dept., Randall Gordon Stallard who served with the Central ISD Police Dept., Byford Hunter who served with the Angelina Co. Sheriff’s Office, and William Read McMullen who served with the Angelina Co. Sheriff’s Office.

“We honor the fallen police officers because of the sacrifice they made,” Smith said.

They have been hosting the Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony for Angelina County officers for about 10 years. Observed annually on May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day has been around since the 1960′s. Lawrence said the job can be dangerous but that it’s an important one. He joined because he wanted to help people.

“It’s a rewarding job and you get a lot of satisfaction from it,” Lawrence said.

This week is National Police Week and Angelina County is not the only community honoring officers. Nacogdoches County will be honoring fallen officers Friday morning at the Nacogdoches County Civic Center at 10 a.m.