Officer Glenn Homs #518

Served from August 20, 1984 to July 3, 1993

Assignment at time of death: Tactical Operations.

On July 3, 1993, at 1:28 a.m., Officer Glenn Homs was dispatched to a call of a cow in the roadway westbound State Highway 114, approximately one-half mile east of Belt Line Road. Officer Homs arrived and found the cow had been struck and was dead in the roadway. Homs was standing in the outside lane of SH 114 near the shoulder when a vehicle drove through the flare line and struck him. At 1:37 a.m., a citizen called over the police radio to report the officer lying in the roadway. Officer Homs was found in the center lane approximately 300 feet west of the point of impact. It was reported that the vehicle that struck him fled the scene without stopping. Officer Homs died just over an hour later at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

The vehicle that struck Homs had last been seen northbound on Belt Line Road and a short time later Coppell Police located a vehicle that had struck a railroad crossing signal box and was stopped on the railroad tracks. The 28-year-old driver, from Arlington, Texas, was arrested and evidence was gathered at that scene which connected him to the fatal accident involving Homs. Charges of involuntary manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid were filed and a guilty plea was accepted on both. At sentencing, he received the maximum sentence of 10 years for the hit-and-run death of Homs and a concurrent five-year sentence for the charge of failure to stop and render aid.

The unthinkable had happened and although everyone knew it was a possibility, Irving police had been able to "conveniently" tuck that thought away and not dwell on it. Homs was the first Irving Police Officer killed in the line of duty and as any department that has lost an officer knows, this loss struck a blow to the very core of Irving’s "police family." The Homs family, though grieving their loss of Glenn, gave the following statement that ultimately shows the character and kindness that Glenn learned and emulated in his life:

"The sudden and untimely loss of a member of our family has been devastating to all of us. Glenn, in each role he filled, as son, father, husband, and brother, was exceptional. His passing has left a void, an emptiness that can never be filled. Glenn loved being a police officer, devoted to his job, as well as our family. We are trying to make some sense of why Glenn was taken from us. He had a full life in front of him, which we had looked forward to sharing with him. The family would like to express their thanks and appreciation for the kindness and goodwill extended to us from everyone."

Glenn’s father and mother maintain contact and a close relationship with our department to this day. Hom’s wife, who was dispatching the night he was killed continued to work at the Irving Police Department until her retirement in 2017.