| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, From March 2 to March 21, 2018, the city of Austin |
|
|
was gripped by a series of seemingly random bombings, which ushered |
|
|
in a state of fear and vigilance in the community and called forth a |
|
|
highly coordinated multiagency response to bring the perpetrator of |
|
|
these heinous crimes to justice; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The bombs, which took the lives of Anthony Stephan |
|
|
House and Draylen Mason and injured five other people, followed no |
|
|
apparent pattern, were delivered to targets all across the city, |
|
|
and varied in their trigger methods, from a string of package |
|
|
explosives to the eventual use of a tripwire; the unpredictable |
|
|
nature of the attacks posed a complex challenge to investigators |
|
|
with the Austin Police Department, led by then-interim police chief |
|
|
Brian Manley; further assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau |
|
|
of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and |
|
|
Explosives, and hundreds of local and state police and federal |
|
|
agents were assigned to the case as it built to its crescendo; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A trail of evidence uncovered by police eventually |
|
|
led to the identification of the suspect and a standoff in the |
|
|
nearby city of Round Rock on March 21; as SWAT team officers closed |
|
|
in on the man, he committed suicide by detonating a final explosive |
|
|
in his vehicle, bringing the harrowing incident to its conclusion |
|
|
with no additional fatalities; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Countless individuals from a host of organizations |
|
|
and units contributed their skills to the investigation; those |
|
|
deserving of special recognition for their efforts include members |
|
|
of the Austin Police Department SWAT Team who were present on the |
|
|
scene during the fraught final moments of the manhunt: Katrina |
|
|
Pruitt, Brannon Ellsworth, Robert Justesen, Vincent Garcia, |
|
|
William Jackman, Pat O'Connor, Leighton Radtke, Jon Abbott, Mike |
|
|
Ridge, Jeff Kingsley, Jared Hidalgo, and Tandy Perkins; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A number of bomb technicians also risked their lives |
|
|
examining and neutralizing the numerous suspicious packages and |
|
|
devices that were discovered over a period of weeks; they included |
|
|
members of the Austin PD Bomb Squad, Courtney Renfro, Jeff Dwyer, |
|
|
Jesse Carrillo, Caine Johnson, Jay McCormick, Josh Euhus, Jeff |
|
|
Joseph, George Ewing, Rob Nunez, Kent Collins, Scott Rhoads, and |
|
|
Troy Wiser; members of the Texas Department of Public Safety Bomb |
|
|
Squad, Thomas Kovacs, Raymond Real, Donnie Bolton, and Andrew |
|
|
Martinez; members of the San Antonio Bomb Squad, Jeremy Swindells, |
|
|
Chad Culp, Jon Sarno, Matthew Armstrong, Jason Alberthal, and Jason |
|
|
Lemcke; and members of the Houston Bomb Squad, Alton Baker, Greg |
|
|
Smith, and Jason Countryman; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Tasked with ending a reign of terror that threatened |
|
|
to claim many more lives, these men and women met the challenge |
|
|
before them with tremendous skill and courage, and they have earned |
|
|
the heartfelt gratitude of the citizens of Austin and the entire |
|
|
State of Texas; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor the SWAT team and bomb squad members who |
|
|
responded to the 2018 Austin bombings and extend to them sincere |
|
|
best wishes for continued success with their important work. |