Police Officer Jerry Leon Spruill

Jerry Leon Spruill

Police Officer Jerry Spruill was shot and killed in the 600 block of Westheimer Road after being set up in an ambush while working a uniformed, off-duty security detail.

He had gone inside to call dispatch when a man came in and told him his car's lights were on. When he went outside to check on the car, two suspects approached him and shot him in the back six times. He was transported to Ben Taub Hospital where he was pronounced dead at around midnight.

One suspect was apprehended and sentenced to 38 years for Officer Spruill's murder and was sentenced to life in prison in connection with the attempted murder of two other officers. The suspect was released after serving only 14 years. The second suspect has never been apprehended.

Officer Spruill was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the Houston Police Department for three years. He was survived by his wife and two sons.