THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Hundreds of mourners turned out to remember a Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant who died last week.
On Jan. 24. Sgt. Ramon Gutierrez had been working an off-duty job directing traffic as a motorcycle escort for a convoy of oversized machinery when he was struck by a suspected intoxicated driver on East Sam Houston Parkway N. at Tidwell . He died a short time later at a Memorial Hermann Health System hospital. He was 45.
Authorities said Gutierrez was in full uniform with a reflective jacket on and his motorcycle’s emergency lights activated when he was hit.
The driver, Lavillia Spry, has been charged with intoxication manslaughter of a peace officer, failure to stop and render aid resulting in death and evading arrest or detention in connection to the fatal crash.
Gutierrez was a 20-year veteran who served in the vehicular crimes division for the sheriff’s office.
RELATED: Sheriff: Family of sergeant killed by intoxicated driver ‘should be planning wedding, not funeral’
On Friday, family, friends, and law enforcement officers attended Woodlands Church in Montgomery County to lay him to rest.
During the service, a montage of photos and videos offered a glimpse into his life off duty: an excellent home cook grilling outside, a husband dancing at home with his wife, a proud father posing with his son at a football game, and several of him with his “fur baby” Akela. Most of the photos included his wife, Lupita, and their three children, Natalie, Alfredo and Omar.
Here are some of the most powerful remembrances from mourners Friday.
Gutierrez’s son: “I want him to know how proud everyone is of him for achieving his dream”
“My father was a simple man. He loved his family, he loved the Dallas Cowboys, he loved to barbecue and he really loved his beer.”
“Just the other day, my sister was telling me that while growing up she was really jealous of all his coworkers that got to spend so much time with him, but now she realizes how much the world needs people like my dad – Hard working, reliable people that dedicate their lives to their family and their community.”
“Many kids, including my dad, grow up wanting to be police officers and wanting to help people. My tías were telling me the other day that, when my dad was young, that he would always play cops with them and he would make them be the bad guys and he would always save the day.”
“I want him to know how proud everyone is of him for achieving his dream. It’s clear to see the impact he made on the world and think he’s very happy with the life that he lived.”
HCSO Patrol Bureau Major Susan Cotter: “Ramon would never complain. He would just get the job done.”
“There were many long days and nights in the division. There were days we’d come on duty at three o’clock in the afternoon and we would watch the sunrise the next morning. Ramon would never complain. He would just get the job done. We just all knew we’d better have him home by noon on Sundays during football season so he could watch his beloved Cowboys. We nicknamed him Romo for obvious reasons and most of us that were there back in the day still call him Romo.”
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez: “He had grit. He had guts.”
“While at our training academy, Ramon earned the nickname Guts, Guts. He was tough and resilient. The class B-1 2003 was broken into squads and Ramon was part of the squad named “Super Squad” for excelling at the classroom, at the firearms range and at physical training. Sgt. Harden, one of his classmates, recalled a time when Ramon wasn’t feeling himself and should’ve sat out that day from physical training but he dug deep and he refused to quit. He had grit. He had guts and nothing could ever stop him. It took one of his instructors to pull him away from training that day. That’s who Ramon was. His eagerness to be a team player and to get the job done carried over into every role he held in our agency.”
HCSO Chaplain Shannon Bowdoin and pastor Marcos Virula
Watch the full service here.