Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas
End of Watch: Thursday, June 10, 2010
Age: 51
Tour of Duty: 17 years
Badge Number: 1147
Cause of Death: Drowned
Date of Incident: June 10, 2010
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Sheriff Eddie Wotipka drowned while attempting to rescue a dog from a canal near his home shortly before midnight.
He was completing paperwork in his patrol car prior to the end of his shift when his wife notified him that their dog was missing. As he searched for the dog a neighbor informed him that several dogs were creating a disturbance at a nearby canal near the intersection of Thompson Road and West Cedar Bayou Lynchburg Road.
Deputy Wotipka located several dogs at the canal with one dog in the water. He entered the water in an attempt to save the dog, but the strong currents, combined with his duty equipment, pulled him beneath the surface. He was able to resurface once but went under again and never resurfaced. His body was recovered the following morning shortly after 5:00 am.
Deputy Wotipka had served with the agency for 17 years and is survived by his wife and two grown children.