Produced by DPS Public Information, (512) 424-2080 September 2000

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

Dear Fellow Employee:The DPS suffered the loss of another

officer Aug. 7, when Trooper RandyVetter died of wounds suffered whenhe was shot on Aug. 3 during a trafficstop near Kyle. Trooper Vetter was the75th DPS officer to die in the line ofduty.

Several thousand people attendedTrooper Vetter’s funeral in NewBraunfels. The outpouring of supportfor the Vetter and DPS families fromcommunities in the Central Texas areawas gratifying.

Just a reminder that paychecks arenot to be cashed before the first of themonth. Employees in the field some-times receive their paychecks before thefirst of the month, and should not cashthem. The state does not deposit pay-roll funds into those accounts until thefirst of each month.

Sept. 11 to 15 is the American As-sociation of Motor Vehicle Administra-tors fourth annual “Drive Safely WorkWeek.” During this week, be sure thatyou and your passengers are wearingsafety belts or are in child safety seats.Slow down and drive courteously tohelp beat road rage.

Trooper killed in roadside shooting

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HP Trooper Randall W. Vetter, 28, died at 10:25 p.m. Monday,Aug. 7, from wounds he suffered during a traffic stop in Hays Countynear Kyle on Thursday, Aug. 3.

Trooper Vetter had pulled over a motorist identified as MelvinEdison Hale, 72, of Kyle for an undetermined traffic violation. Mo-ments after Randy and Hale parked on the westside access road of

IH-35 near Yarrington Road, the traffic stopturned violent.

Hale, who was armed with a semiautomaticrifle, is believed to have fired more than once atTrooper Vetter. Randy was able to return fire,but did not strike him. One of the shots fired byHale struck Trooper Vetter in the head.

Hays County Sheriff’s deputies, Kyle andSan Marcos police and other DPS officers ar-

rived at the scene shortly after the shooting. There was a brief stand-off with the suspect, who was eventually subdued by DPS License &Weight Trooper Jeff Sones and taken into custody.

Trooper Vetter was taken to Brackenridge Hospital in Austin,where he remained in critical condition until his death Monday night.

He was buried on Friday, Aug. 11 in Comal Cemetery in NewBraunfels after funeral services at St. Paul Lutheran Church in NewBraunfels. Survivors include his wife, Cynthia; their eight-month-oldson Robert; and his father, Kermit.

A native of New Braunfels, Randy graduated from Canyon HighSchool and was a six-year veteran of the DPS. He joined the DPS in1994. He was stationed in Brownsville until August 1996 when hetransferred to New Braunfels. He transferred to San Marcos on July1, 2000. He had four letters of appreciation from the public for hisassistance.

Col. Davis, on behalf of the DPS, would like to express apprecia-tion to the people of Texas and members of the Department for theiroverwhelming show of support in this time of sadness. The best wishesof so many has been a ray of light in a trying time. The law enforce-ment agencies, business communities and people of New Braunfels,San Marcos and Austin have been especially supportive.

Mile Markers

DPS online: www.txdps.state.tx.us DPS “on the air”: 512-424-7777 askthecolonel@txdps.state.tx.us

Short Shots

Promotional exams setCompetitive promotional examina-

tions have been set for Captain, Spe-cial Crimes Service (week of Sept.18); Captain, Motor Vehicle TheftService (week of Sept. 21); and Cap-tain, Narcotics Service (week ofSept. 26). Candidates must submitHR-106 directly to Human Resourcesby mail, e-mail or fax with a copythrough channels to their appropriateService Commander by 5 p.m. Fri-day, Sept. 8.

Competitive promotional examina-tions have been set the week of No-vember 13 for the following positions:Captain, Driver License Divsion;Captain, Texas Rangers; Captain,Highway Patrol Service; Captain,License & Weight Service. Can-didates must submit HR-106 directlyto Human Resources by mail, e-mailor fax with a copy through channelsto their appropriate Service Com-mander by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.

Competitive promotional examina-tions have been set the week of No-vember 13 for the following positions:Lieutenant, Texas Rangers; Lieu-tenant, Special Crimes Service;Lieutenant, License & WeightService; Supervisor, Vehicle In-spection Service; Police Commu-nications Regional Supervisor,Communications Service; PoliceCommunications Facility Supervi-sor, Communications Service.

Lieutenant, Motor VehicleTheft Service; Lieutenant, High-way Patrol Service; Lieutenant,Safety Education Service; Lieu-tenant, Driver License Division;Lieutenant, Narcotics Service;and Regional Supervisor, VehicleInspection Service. Candidatesmust submit HR-106 directly to Hu-

Best wishes for a speedy re-covery from line-of-duty inju-ries go to:

Tr. Sam Orta, HP HoustonTr. Kenneth Rushing,

L&W ConroeLinda Swails, DL Examiner

CarrolltonTr. Leslie Grace, HP

DeLeon

On themend...

From Trooper Leslie Grace:Since my wreck on April 15, the

support we have been shown hasbeen superior...I am proud to be amember of the DPS. My family andI now understand the term “DPSFamily.” The Troopers in SanAngelo who took care of my spouseand family following the wreck pro-vided outstanding support. I willnever be able to repay them andtheir family members. All I can doto repay the Department is to striveto come back to work as a dedi-cated hard-working Trooper so Ican be there for someone else whenthey need support.

man Resources by mail, e-mail or faxwith a copy through channels to theirappropriate Service Commander by5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.

Competitive promotional examina-tions have been set for Sergeant,Texas Rangers; Sergeant, Li-cense & Weight Service; Ser-geant, Driver License Division;Sergeant, Highway Patrol Ser-vice; Sergeant/Investigator, Mo-tor Vehicle Theft Service; Ser-geant/Investigator, Narcotics Ser-vice; Sergeant, Aircraft Service;and Sergeant/Investigator, SpecialCrimes Service. Candidates mustsubmit HR-106 directly to Human Re-sources by mail, e-mail or fax with acopy through channels to their appro-priate Service Commander by 5 p.m.Friday, Oct. 6.

Retirees’ meeting set for WacoThe annual meeting for DPS re-

tirees is set for Sept. 16 at Knox Hallat the Texas Ranger Hall of Fameand Museum in Waco. For more in-formation about the meeting, pleasecall Bill Sanders at 254-836-4139.

PromotionsTLE

Sharlotte Herring Castro, Pol.Comm. Opr. III Pierce to Supr., Pol.Comm. Laredo.

CLEDavid Franklin Bradshaw,

Task Force Lt., Narc. Svc. Midlandto Lt., Narc. Svc. Del Rio.

Driver LicenseAaron Alton Ard, Sgt., DL Aus-

tin to Lt., DL Austin. Steven AlanCarlborg, Sgt., DL Plano to Lt., DLGarland. Bobby Ray Tucker, Sgt.,

DL Waco to Lt., DL Waco.

DeathsRandall Wade Vetter, Tr. II, HP

San Marcos (Dec. 1994-Aug. 2000)died August 7. Kenneth CharlesClark, Network Spec. III, IMS Aus-tin (March 1986-Aug. 2000) diedAugust 9. Wayne CliffordKimbrough, Microfilm Clerk, DIBureau Austin (Oct. 1999-July 2000)died July 27. Noel Dee “Blackie”Callaway, ret. Sgt., HP San Antonio(Sept. 1941-June 1970) died July 24.

Retirements in next issue!