H.R. No. 2511
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends will forever feel the loss of
Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper David Irvine Rucker, who
died in the line of duty on September 29, 1981, at the age of 37; and
WHEREAS, Trooper Rucker was shot and killed during the course
of a traffic stop; he left behind a wife and three children; and
WHEREAS, Born in Brownsville on October 21, 1943, David
Rucker was the son of Bracht and Hazel Dawn Rucker; he grew up in
Homestead, Florida, where he graduated from South Dade High School
in 1963; he studied liberal arts at Texas Southmost College in
Brownsville and went on to graduate from the Dade County Police
Academy; from 1966 to 1968, he served as a patrol officer in the
Homestead Police Department; and
WHEREAS, On September 15, 1969, Mr. Rucker took the oath of
the Texas State Highway Patrol; he was appointed patrolman in 1973,
and that same year, he was promoted to patrolman II; at the time of
his death, he was assigned to Region 3 in Port Isabel; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, a memorial was placed at the site of Trooper
Rucker's death, and a street was renamed in his honor in Isla Blanca
Park on South Padre Island; the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center
near Olmito bears his name, and in 2012, the Texas Department of
Public Safety named a river patrol boat in Trooper Rucker's memory;
and
WHEREAS, Though David Rucker was taken far too soon, his
legacy of public service and devotion to his family will continue to
inspire all those who hold him close in their hearts; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of David Irvine Rucker
and extend heartfelt sympathy to his family and many friends; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of David
Irvine Rucker.
Lucio III
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2511 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on May 28, 2017.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House