A Message to Waco police officers from Terry Donovan:

Thank you for posting the story of a coward that tried to kill a House Bill that would save the lives of police officers. Below I have included the complete story of my wife's accident. Something that this coward does not feel. I tell you now, that the only reason he tried to kill this bill is because of his issues with another House member. He put his own personal issues above that of protecting those that protect him and his family. I watched him as he walked off the House floor after his attempt to kill the bill, he walk off with a big smile on his face. Please continue to flood his office with the disappointment that I'm sure you feel.

Officer Amy Lynn Donovan
Austin Police Department
EOW: Oct. 31, 2004

Austin Police Officer Amy Lynn Donovan was killed in the line of duty on October 31, 2004. She left behind a loving family including four children the youngest being only two years old. Officer Donovan took an oath to protect the citizens of the city of Austin and to enforce the laws set forth by this Great State of Texas.

On the night of October 30, 2004, Officer Donovan and her partner were on a special detail in East Austin, focusing on drugs and prostitution. At approximately 10:30 PM, Officer Donovan and her partner came upon a parked vehicle with two occupants and two individuals outside of the vehicle. As Officer Donovan and her partner exited their patrol car, Officer Donovan approached a female outside of the vehicle and patted her down for her safety and that of her partner. As her partner focused on the two individuals inside the vehicle, Officer Donovan turned to the male standing off to the side of the vehicle. As he started to back away, Officer Donovan gave him a lawful order to stay at the scene.

At this time he turned and began to flee on foot. Officer Donovan began to pursue him. As she called out her foot pursuit and other officers joined, her partner who had re-entered their patrol car also began to respond. At some point during this foot pursuit, Officer Donovan's partner drove past her in the opposite direction. He immediately put the vehicle in reverse and attempted to cut off the fleeing criminal and come to his partners aid. Officer Donovan was struck by that patrol car. She was pinned between it and a utility pole.As the car struck Officer Donovan, the coward she was chasing continued to run only steps ahead of her.

Officer Donovan suffered massive injuries, including the loss of he left leg, a crushed pelvis and a main artery shredded beyond repair. Officer Donovan fought hard to stay on this earth, but died in the operating room of Brackinridge Hospital at 2 am the next morning.

Officer Donovan died on her favorite holiday, Halloween, and was scheduled to have that day off to take her two-year-old son Chase trick-or-treating in a costume that she spent months sewing herself. Her last words were to her partner. She grabbed his hand and said, "Don't let me die, Valdo." Her co-workers watched as she closed her eyes and slipped away.

The coward that set off the chain of events that cut her family deeply and bruised this community was picked up days later, sleeping in an apartment with drugs in his pocket. The coward that Officer Donovan bravely pursued that night had been arrested SIX previous times for evading on foot, including being lawfully detained in the back of a patrol car and escaping and fleeing.

When you look at the crime of possession of 2-4 oz of marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor, and fleeing on foot as a Class B misdemeanor, the criminal will always flee. This coward continually went through the system being charged with Class B misdemeanors. Even when he was picked up after the death of Officer Donovan, the first charge in the court docket was drugs. The system is so use to expediting drug cases that the Assistant DA never read the complete court docket. She pled this habitual offender out to 4 1/2 years. Even though a Police Officer was killed. He should have never been on the street to begin with. He got 4 1/2 years, Officer Donovan's family got life without parole.

Law Enforcement Officers deserve to have the crime of fleeing on foot changed to a Class A misdemeanor on the first conviction and a State Jail Felony for those previously convicted. These are crimes against Law Enforcement and should not be tolerated.

In 2005, Officer Donovan was honored in both the Texas House and Senate. We ask you to honor her again and protect the men and women of Law Enforcement and her chosen career that she loved so much. We should learn from history and history tells us if we do nothing, we will leave more children without a mother or father, more families will be cut deeply, more communities will be bruised, and more Police Officers will watch their partners die in their arms.