A Mesquite police officer, Richard Houston, was killed in the line of duty On December 3, 2021.
During the service at Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, Houston’s daughter Shelby, 18, gave an emotional eulogy, recounting the last text message her father sent to her.
“I remember having conversations with my dad about him, losing friends and officers in the line of duty. I have heard all the stories you can think of, but I’ve always had such a hard time with how the suspect is dealt with, not that I didn’t think there should be justice served, but my heart always ached for those who don’t know Jesus, their actions being a reflection of that.”
“I was always told that I would feel differently if it happened to me, but as it’s happened to my own father, I think I still feel the same, there has been anger, sadness, grief and confusion, and part of me wishes I could despise the man who did this to my father, but I can’t get any of any part of my heart to hate him, all that I can find is myself hoping and praying for this man to truly know Jesus. I thought this might change if the man continued to live but when I heard the news that he was in stable condition, part of me was relieved.”
“My prayer is that someday down the road, I’d get to spend some time with the man who shot my father, not to scream at him, not to yell at him, not to scold him, simply to tell him about Jesus.”
Houston joined the Mesquite Police Department in January 2001. He had worked in patrol, on SWAT for more than 10 years and as an investigator, working burglaries and thefts, homeland security, and juvenile gang cases, police said in a news release.
He leaves behind a wife and three children.