‘His legacy will never die:’ Hundreds honor fallen Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph

Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph lived his life with God and left behind him a legacy of integrity and service, his family and coworkers said at his funeral Saturday morning.

The 56-year-old sergeant was struck by a wrong-way driver while responding to an 18-wheeler crash and fire on Interstate 35W in the early hours of Monday morning. Fellow officers rushed him to John Peter Smith Hospital, but he didn’t survive his injuries. The driver, 25-year-old De Aujalae Evans, was arrested and faces a charge of intoxicated manslaughter of a peace officer.

“Billy may be small in stature, but he will leave a crater-sized hole in this department and our hearts,” South Patrol Division Commander Andre Smith told the hundreds of people who gathered at Christ Chapel Bible Church to celebrate Randolph’s life.

Attendees included officers from dozens of law enforcement agencies across Texas, including local departments, sheriff’s offices and airport and university police.

The service started with a procession from the Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex on Felix Street to Christ Chapel Bible Church on Birchman Avenue. Community members stood along the route, some with their hand over their heart.

The Jackson family stood on the sidewalk across from the church, waiting to see the final leg of the procession. Jarod Jackson said Randolph helped organize a drive-by birthday parade for his oldest daughter, Elizabeth, during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

“She loved it. She had no idea it was coming,” Jackson said of his daughter’s surprise when a column of police vehicles drove past their house.

Now Elizabeth is 14, and has her heart set on becoming a Fort Worth police officer so she can protect her community, her parents told the Star-Telegram.

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes read Randolph’s obituary to begin the funeral and shared words of comfort from the Bible.

Noakes described Randolph as “a cop’s cop” whose servant leadership earned him the admiration and respect of his team. Noakes praised Randolph’s selflessness, work ethic and love for his family.

“I don’t know how much Billy talked about work at home, but when he was at work, he sure talked about home, and to see his eyes light up when he did,” Noakes said to Randolph’s wife, Lisa Randolph. “Billy had fun at work, but his joy was at home.”

Randolph and his wife were married for 35 years and “built a life filled with love, laughter, and memories that will be cherished forever,” according to his obituary.

Mayor Mattie Parker said that Randolph is the 66th Fort Worth officer to die in the line of duty, and the city is heartbroken once again. She referred to the nearly 30 years that Randolph served with the Fort Worth Police Department and the growth and changes that have come to the city during that time.

“We know that it is the blood, sweat and tears and the ultimate sacrifice of Sgt. Randolph and our officers that have made this city successful,” Parker said.

Members of Randolph’s patrol team who served under him at the South Division shared memories of his leadership. Randolph had a lot of nicknames, according to Officer Taylor Massey, but those on his team just called him “Sarge.”

Massey told of the time he’d made a traffic stop and Randolph told him to keep the man there. Randolph showed up and talked to the man for a few minutes before letting him go. It turns out, Massey said, that Randolph encountered the man regularly on his beat years earlier when he was a patrol officer.

As a teen, the man had several run-ins with the law. Randolph went out and found him on his 17th birthday and kept him with him all day so he wouldn’t get in trouble and have to go to jail on his birthday. Massey said that was just like Randolph. He preferred keeping people out of trouble rather than sending them to jail.

“He taught us how to be cops and how to be people,” Massey said.

Mark Daley, Randolph’s wife’s uncle, shared how Randolph rushed to Florida to help a family member whose home had been destroyed in a hurricane. He salvaged as many valuables as he could from the house and then took them to Tennessee where the family member was staying.

“That’s the kind of man he was,” Daley said. “Dropped everything and you couldn’t stop him. He was going to help.”

Lt. Johnny Kovar closed the service by reminding the officers Randolph supervised that they will carry his legacy forward.

“His legacy will never die here, because of each one of you that served under him,” Kovar said. “Never forget that. We all have some Billy in us, but especially you.”

He said he’d never seen a team care for their sergeant as Randolph’s team cared for him, and he’d never seen a sergeant care more for his team.

Kovar pointed listeners to finding rest and comfort in God, who promises to be near to the brokenhearted. He also promised to continue supporting Lisa Randolph and her family.

“I will be there for you,” he said. “All of us will be there for you.”

After the funeral, attendees gathered outside for an honor service that included bagpipes and drums, a gun salute and a riderless horse. “Taps” was played to close the ceremony.

Randolph is survived by family including wife Lisa, daughter Kayla and four grandchildren.

🚨 More top stories from our newsroom:

→ This street was supposed to be ‘Fort Worth’s Champs-Elysees.’ What happened?

→ Driver charged with killing officer tells police she drank 10 shots

→ Lawsuit: 13-year-old sexually assaulted at Gateway Church youth group

[Get our breaking news alerts. ]