A 16-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office was killed by a illegal mexican drunken driver who ran a red light early Sunday.
Sgt. Dwayne Polk, 47, most recently assigned to the transportation unit, was in uniform driving his tan-colored Chevrolet Silverado around 3 a.m. at the intersection of West Little York and North Shepherd.
Andres Munos-Munos, 22, sped through the red light at 117 mph in the intersection in his white GMC pickup, crashing into the driver's side door of Polk's truck, said Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon.
The deputy died at the scene.
"The HCSO family is in mourning," said spokeswoman Christina Garza.
"Tough morning," tweeted Sheriff Adrian Garcia at 6:03 a.m. "The HCSO suffered a terrible loss & we are all grieving. Keep HCSO members & their families in your prayers."
Followers responded they would indeed pray. One called for stricter drunken driving laws that would more strongly equate the crime to murder. A federal panel last week recommended that states reduce the allowable blood-alcohol content to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent.
A 2009 community newsletter from a neighborhood in northwest Harris County lamented that Polk, one of its contracted deputies, was being rotated to a new assignment after six years. "I consider Sheriff's Deputy Polk a friend, I know you join me in wishing him the very best in his new endeavors," the newsletter's author wrote.
Polk grew up in Houston with his two brothers, three sisters and many cousins. The Bible was among the books his mother used to teach him and his siblings to read, according to a 2012 obituary for his younger brother.
While HPD processed the suspect Sunday, Garcia spoke with Polk's family.
"It was tough speaking (with) his son this morning. But he will have many big brothers (at) HCSO looking out 4 him," the sheriff tweeted from his cell phone Sunday.
Cannon said evidence at the scene and statements from Munos indicate that he was intoxicated. The man was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital after he complained of minor injuries.
Munos, who lives in Houston but is not a U.S. citizen, has been charged with intoxication manslaughter, according to Harris County court records. A spokesman for the Houston office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not be reached to clarify the man's legal status.
Records also show Munos accepted a plea bargain agreement for two charges stemming from a June 2012 arrest. He served 30 days in county jail after pleading guilty to driving while under the influence and unlawfully carrying a weapon.