Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Hawkins Berry

Benjamin Hawkins Berry

Deputy Sheriff Benny Berry was shot and killed as he and Deputy Sheriff Walter Eckert attempted to serve a felony warrant on a man for writing bad checks.

At 9:30 a.m., the deputies entered the man's residence at 7401 Grover Avenue in Austin after being told by a neighbor that the man was inside the home. The suspect opened fire on the deputies with an M-1 carbine, mortally wounding Deputy Berry in the chest and Deputy Eckert in the hip and calf. Deputy Eckert returned fire but did not strike the shooter as he fled the house. Deputy Eckert went to the house next door for back-up.

The suspect, who was on federal probation, was arrested and sentenced to 99 years in prison, but was released after serving only 13 years.

Deputy Eckert was transported to Brackenridge Hospital. Due to his wounds, he was medically retired. He succumbed to his wounds on June 4, 1975.

Deputy Berry had served with the Travis County Sheriff's Office for almost six years. He was survived by his son and by his wife, a dispatcher at the Travis County Sheriff's Office. It was his wife who received the first call of "Officer Down" at the Sheriff's office when her husband was shot and killed at the scene.