AUSTIN – A Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Trooper died Thursday afternoon following a shooting incident in Freestone County.
At approximately 3:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 23, Highway Patrol Trooper Damon Allen stopped a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu for a traffic violation on southbound I-45 south of Fairfield. Preliminary information indicates Trooper Allen approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, and then returned to his patrol unit. The suspect fired multiple shots from a rifle at Trooper Allen, who died at the scene. (The suspect was arrested in Waller County Thursday night and faces a capital murder charge.)
“Our DPS family is heartbroken tonight after one of Texas’ finest law enforcement officers was killed in the line of duty,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Texas Highway Patrol Trooper Damon Allen was a loving husband and father of four, and we ask for your prayers for his entire family and his many friends and colleagues during the difficult days ahead. Trooper Allen’s dedication to duty, and his bravery and selfless sacrifice on this Thanksgiving Day, will never be forgotten.”
Trooper Allen, 41, was commissioned as a Trooper in July of 2002, and he was stationed in Groesbeck at the time of his death. He is the 221st DPS officer to die in the line of duty since 1823, and the first Trooper to die in a shooting incident since 2008. He is survived by his wife and four children.
Funeral services are set for Friday.
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