A year later…and it still hurts

One year ago tomorrow, August 13, 2012, I was picking a jury on a felony case in Brazos County when I received the heart-breaking news that a good friend of mine, and one of law enforcement’s finest officers, Constable Brian Bachmann, had been murdered as he attempted to serve an eviction notice.

Brian left behind a loving wife, Donna, four children, and a shocked community. He was loved by all and you would be hard-pressed to find anyone, and I mean anyone, who could say anything negative about Brian. He was a great human being. And he truly enriched the lives of all who knew him.

He loved his family, his church, and his community like no one else I have known. He was the perfect example of what a public servant should be. He had a servant’s heart.

Our community has still not recovered from his death. Thousands attended his funeral service and police officers from all over Texas responded by giving Brian a funeral procession of hundreds of police and emergency vehicles stretching for miles over the funeral route.

Tomorrow, Brazos County will pause once again to mourn our enormous loss. Brian’s brothers and sisters in law enforcement will revisit the loss of one of their finest and reflect upon the dangers of a career as a police officer and, like Brian, still put on the badge and do their jobs.

Brian’s friends will grieve the loss of as good a friend as you could hope to have. I miss him terribly.

On this, the anniversary of his senseless murder, please take a moment to pray for his family and to consider the difficult, and sometimes deadly, job our police officers willingly undertake every day to keep us safe.

We must also pause to remember Chris Northcliffe, a 43-year-old College Station resident who was also shot and killed by the same shooter who took Brian’s life. Pray for his family as well. Others were victims that day, too.

Finally, and I know Brian would want this said, the shooting on that awful day could have been much worse, if that is possible. The shooter certainly had the determination and the firepower to hurt or kill many more people that day. If it wasn’t for the incredible courage and extraordinary presence of mind to two College Station Police Officers, Andy Murph and Travis Lacox, who literally braved hostile gunfire and risked their lives to end the threat, many more lives would have been lost that day, of that I have no doubt. I know that Brian is proud of both of you.

It’s going to be a hard day. God bless Constable Brian Bachman.