Family, friends reflect on a life well-lived at visitation for fallen Dallas officer Darron Burks

DALLAS — Family and friends of fallen Dallas police officer Darron Burks are getting ready to say their final goodbyes.

Friday night, a visitation was held at Watermark Church in Dallas.

"He was one of the best nephews I've ever had," Betty Newton said. "We all loved him. We all did and just speaking for myself, I can't think of a better guy."

Burks was sitting in his squad car, in between calls, when a suspect shot and killed him last Thursday .

"It's kind of a shock but God knows best that's all I can say, and he was wonderful," Newton said. "He really was."

Friends, like Rodney Fennell, said he meant a lot to a lot of people.

"You couldn't find anybody that could say anything negative about him," he said. "He was a positive man. He didn't say a lot, but he did a lot."

Before Burks got into law enforcement, he was a math teacher at Texans Can Academy in Dallas from 2006 to 2023.

He graduated from Lake Highlands High School and Paul Quinn College where he was a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

"Burks was that guy that you could always lean on, depend on," fraternity brother Frederick Faulk said. "If I needed help with my school, he helped out, he helped me. He was a good guy."

"He took me under his wing and showed me what Omega was about," Edward Knox said. "The principles of being an Omega and being a Christian as well, he just always prayed with me."

Those closest to him say he was a man of faith, attending Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship every Sunday.

Saturday morning there will be another public visitation at the church from 9 - 11 am.

A celebration of life will take place immediately after.