Jayme Fraser, Houston Chronicle
More than 1,000 people stood Saturday afternoon as the family of slain Bellaire police officer Sgt. Jimmie Norman walked into Houston’s First Baptist Church to take their seats.
City, county, state and federal officers uniformed in shades of blue, black and brown watched silently for six minutes as Norman’s family members walked past. The silence was broken only by the whisper of an overhead projector as it cycled through images of Norman’s life as a 28-year police veteran, husband of 31 years, father to two adult children and charitable friend to many more.
The photos showed a man who often wore Ray Ban aviator sunglasses, whether in uniform, posing with family at the Missouri state line, or cheering at an Astros game.
Norman, 53, was fatally shot Christmas Eve after a traffic stop became a deadly confrontation that also ended with the death of a bystander who came to his aid, Terry Taylor. The suspect, Harlem Harold Lewis, was left in critical condition and has been charged with capital murder.
Friends and family who attended the funeral remained silent throughout the service, only softly chuckling a couple times and often raising hands to wipe tears. “I have no words,” said Bellaire Police Chief Byron Holloway. “I have pain. But I have no words.”
Norman, the first Bellaire officer to die on duty, was remembered primarily as a man eager to help others.
(Read more at Chron.com)
OTHER COVERAGE:
- Funerals held for slain officer, bystander (KPRC 2 News)
- Fallen officer’s funeral unites police, community (KTRK 13 News)
LOCAL AREA HEADLINES:
- Bush out of intensive care at Methodist (Chron.com)
- Woman’s Hospital of Texas delivers 10,000th baby of 2012 (KTRK 13 News)
- Kenya vision clinics open eyes of mission teams (Houston Chronicle)
- At Texana Center for disabled adults, art is key (Houston Chronicle)
- 6 third-time DWI offenders arrested over Christmas weekend (Chron.com)
- Texas builds ‘hurricane domes’ for double-duty (KPRC 2 News)
- Church tackles prostitution issue (KRIV 26 News)
- Dynamo Making A Difference for Students, Parents Connected to Newtown Tragedy (KRIV 26 News)
- METRO light rail & Grand Parkway make Best and Worst lists (Houston Culture Map)
STATE, NATION & WORLD:
- Daughters of the Republic chapter leaving Alamo grounds (Chron.com)
- Funding fate of Planned Parenthood looms with Monday ruling (AP)
- Newspaper names exonerees as Texans of the Year (Chron.com)
- State Fair taking donations to rebuild Big Tex (AP)
- 345 dead sharks found in Gulf net (AP)
- Woman Accused of Hate-Crime Murder in Subway Push (New York Times)
- Senators trade proposals into night to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’ (Washington Post)
- Obama wants gun violence measures passed in 2013 (AP)
- India mourns death of rape victim (Washington Post)