Mourners to hold vigil for fallen Fort Worth police officer

Mourners will gather in Fort Worth on Wednesday night to honor a police officer who was killed Monday in the line of duty.

Sgt. Billy Randolph was struck by a wrong-way driver early Monday morning while working a traffic accident on Interstate 35W. He died from his injuries. He had been with the Fort Worth Police Department for 29 years.

"He was out there on I-35 with his men and women because he wanted to be right there beside them, doing his job. In listening to his family, his friends, and his fellow officers talk...that's just the kind of guy he was," Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.

There will be a community vigil at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Fort Worth Police Department's South Patrol Division offices at 3501 W. Risinger Road. Parking for the event will be available at the Vivian J. Lincoln Library at 8829 McCart Ave. and Crowley Middle School at 3800 W. Risinger Road.

There will also be a celebration of life on Saturday morning at Christ Chapel Bible Church.

Fort Worth police escorted Randolph from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office to the Mount Olivet Funeral Home on Tuesday.

Hundreds of police officers gathered at John Peter Smith Hospital on Monday to honor Randolph just hours after his passing.

"Keep our police department in your prayers and thoughts in the coming days," Parker said. "You would be proud to have watched your police officers rally together as a family."

The suspect in Monday's crash, 25-year-old De Aujalae Evans, is charged with intoxication manslaughter causing the death of a peace officer or firefighter.

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