R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, Deputy Keith George Ruiz of the Travis County 1-2 Sheriff's Office was killed in the line of duty on February 15, 1-3 2001, at the age of 36, and we join his family and friends in 1-4 mourning their tragic loss; and 1-5 WHEREAS, A valued member of the Travis County SWAT team, 1-6 Deputy Ruiz was helping his fellow officers on the SWAT and 1-7 Narcotics Task Force to execute a narcotics search warrant at the 1-8 time of his death; and 1-9 WHEREAS, Born May 2, 1964, Deputy Ruiz earned a bachelor of 1-10 science degree in criminal justice from Southwest Texas State 1-11 University, with a major in law enforcement and a minor in 1-12 sociology; continuing his education, this esteemed public servant 1-13 attained his advanced peace officer certification on February 25, 1-14 2000; and 1-15 WHEREAS, In 1988, Deputy Ruiz joined the Travis County 1-16 Sheriff's Office and was assigned to the Corrections Bureau at the 1-17 Travis County Jail; two years later he transferred to Law 1-18 Enforcement, where he served with distinction for five years before 1-19 his transfer to the Tactical Unit in 1995; and 1-20 WHEREAS, In his years with the Sheriff's Office, Deputy Ruiz 1-21 had a distinguished peacekeeping career, earning eight letters of 1-22 commendation and 11 letters of appreciation, as well as nomination 1-23 for a 2000 Commendation Bar; and 1-24 WHEREAS, In his leisure time, this avid sportsman made 2-1 spending time with his family a priority in his life, serving as 2-2 his sons' T-ball and baseball coach for a decade and regularly 2-3 planning family outings with his loved ones; and 2-4 WHEREAS, Those who serve in the field of law enforcement are 2-5 among the most dedicated of all public servants, for they realize 2-6 that although their efforts may place them in exceptional physical 2-7 peril, that level of personal risk is necessary to ensure the 2-8 public's welfare; and 2-9 WHEREAS, Deputy Ruiz exemplifies the spirit of self-sacrifice 2-10 that is at the core of every peace officer's pledge to provide for 2-11 the public safety of everyone in the community; although his life 2-12 has been cut tragically short, his memory will live on in the 2-13 hearts and minds of the many people whose lives he touched; now, 2-14 therefore, be it 2-15 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 77th Texas 2-16 Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Deputy Keith George 2-17 Ruiz and extend sincere sympathy to the members of the family he 2-18 held so dear: to his beloved wife, Bernadette Ortiz Ruiz and sons, 2-19 Matthew Anthony, Alexander Jesse, and Joshua Keith Ruiz; to his 2-20 parents, George and Mary Ruiz; to his brother and sister-in-law, 2-21 Kenneth and Cathy Ruiz; to his sister and brother-in-law, Shirley 2-22 and Marshall Littleton; and to his other relatives and many 2-23 friends; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-2 prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas 3-3 House of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of 3-4 Travis County Sheriff's Deputy Keith George Ruiz. Maxey Kitchen Dukes Keel Naishtat Laney Goodman Merritt Alexander Goolsby Miller Allen Gray Moreno of Harris Averitt Green Moreno of El Paso Bailey Grusendorf Morrison Berman Gutierrez Mowery Bonnen Haggerty Naishtat Bosse Hamric Najera Brimer Hardcastle Nixon Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Noriega Brown of Brazos Hawley Oliveira Burnam Heflin Olivo Callegari Hilbert Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Carter Hill Puente Chavez Hinojosa Ramsay Chisum Hochberg Rangel Christian Hodge Raymond Clark Homer Reyna of Bexar Coleman Hope Reyna of Dallas Cook Hopson Ritter Corte Howard Sadler Counts Hunter Salinas Crabb Hupp Seaman Craddick Isett Shields Crownover Janek Smith Danburg Jones of Lubbock Smithee Davis of Harris Jones of Bexar Solis Davis of Dallas Jones of Dallas Solomons Delisi Junell Swinford Denny Keel Talton Deshotel Keffer Telford Driver King of Parker Thompson Dukes King of Uvalde Tillery Dunnam Kitchen Truitt Dutton Kolkhorst Turner of Coleman Edwards Krusee Turner of Harris Ehrhardt Kuempel Uher Eiland Lewis of Tarrant Uresti Elkins Lewis of Orange Villarreal Ellis Longoria Walker Farabee Luna West Farrar McCall Williams Flores McClendon Wilson Gallego McReynolds Wise Garcia Madden Wohlgemuth George Marchant Wolens Geren Martinez Fischer Woolley Giddings Maxey Yarbrough Glaze Menendez Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 312 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on February 21, 2001. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House