NASSAU BAY, Texas – A sergeant of the Nassau Bay Police Department died late Tuesday after being hit by the vehicle of a driver who was fleeing officers during a traffic stop, officials said.
The sergeant was identified as 43-year-old Kaila Sullivan, who officials said had been with the department for nearly 16 years.
According to Nassau Bay police Chief Tim Cromie, officers had conducted a traffic stop in the parking lot of an apartment complex on San Sebastian Court near Upper Bay Road. Cromie said that during the stop, officers realized that the driver was wanted on a domestic violence charge in Harris County. Cromie said the driver began fighting officers who were trying to arrest him and was able to get back into his vehicle. As he was speeding away from the scene hit Sullivan, who had responded to the scene to assist the officers, Cromie said.
Sullivan was taken to Houston Clear Lake Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The vehicle was later found abandoned, officials said.
Nassau Bay Mayor Mark Denman said this is the first time one of the city’s police officers has been killed in the line of duty.
Authorities identified the driver as 21-year-old Tavores Dewayne Henderson just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Authorities believed he was barricaded inside his mother’s home in Sunnyside, but after an hours-long SWAT standoff, authorities were able to make entry into the home and he was not there.
During a news conference, authorities said Henderson is about 6 feet tall and was wearing a single handcuff on one arm.
Anyone with information about Henderson’s whereabouts is asked to call 911. The U.S. Marshal’s Office is offering a $10,000 reward and Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case, officials say.
If anyone has information regarding Henderson’s whereabouts, you’re urged to contact officials on the Crime Stoppers tip line at 713-222-TIPS or contact police at 713-274-9100.