Dallas Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Friday, June 23, 1972
Age: 26
Tour of Duty: 1 year
Badge Number: 2374
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 18, 1968
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 25 years
Officer Howard Hicks succumbed to gunshot wounds received four years earlier when he stopped a man for DUI.
He was off duty when he observed the suspected DUI driver South Central Expressway and Overton Road. When the man stopped in a parking lot, in the 3200 block of Southern Oaks Boulevard, Officer Hicks approached him, showed his badge, and told the man he was under arrest. The man pulled out a gun and shot Officer Hicks in the neck, causing paralysis. Officer Hicks remained a quadriplegic until his death four years later.
Officer Hicks was able to identify the shooter, and he was sentenced to 25 years for assault to murder a police officer.
Officer Hicks was a U.S Marine Corps veteran and had served with the Dallas Police Department for one year. He was survived by his wife.