Harris County Deputies Organization

MY STORY

You see, it wasn’t supposed to happen to us. We had so many plans for the future and dreams yet to be fulfilled. Our children were still young and needed their daddy. I still needed my husband...

Deputy Sheriff Barrett Travis Hill

Harris Co. Sheriff's Office
End of Watch: Monday, December 4, 2000

Deputy Hill was shot and killed while chasing car theft suspects in a wooded area.

Deputy Hill and his training officer had responded to a call of two people breaking into cars. Upon their arrival, the suspects fled into the wooded area and the officers pursued them on foot. Deputy Hill radioed that he had captured one of the suspects. Soon after, his partner heard gun shots and was unable to reach Deputy Hill by radio. He was located moments later by his partner. Deputy Hill had sustained gunshot wounds to the face, chest, and hand. Deputy Hill had been wearing a vest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect carjacked a woman in a nearby apartment complex and made his escape. He was arrested later in the morning approximately 75 miles away, after being spotted by a deputy in another jurisdiction. On January 16, 2002, the suspect was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.

Deputy Hill had been a jailer for the Harris County Sheriff's Department for three and a half years, and was just finishing his field training before becoming a patrol officer. He is survived by his wife, his parents, and two daughters, ages eight and eighteen.

Cathy Hill is a survivor. As a member and trustee of National Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), Cathy is making a difference by fulfilling a mission dear to her heart... providing resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

We envision this blog as an extension of her outreach. By speaking at many meetings and conventions, she tells her story of the loss of her husband, Barry, and her journey through the years that followed. By sharing her own feelings, experiences and knowledge, she has touched the lives of many... more than even she realizes.

When asked to begin this new mission, Cathy was at first hesitant, wondering if she could really make a difference. "I know there are so many who don't really understand about the benefits that are out there if something happens and there is so much that is said to them that is false."

So, here's our Cathy... ready to share.

Thursday

Aug112011

The Role of Love

Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 6:59PM

A person means something different to everyone in their lives. They are the same person internally, of course – they possess the same characteristics or personality traits, the same morals and beliefs – but they carry a different title and responsibility with each and every person they encounter. A man does not treat his wife the same way as his children, or talk to a co-worker the same way he would speak to a parent. A wife will see him as a lover; a child will think of him as a caregiver; a parent will see him as a precious gift of life.

Click to read more ...

Cathy Hill |