TYLER, Texas — The Tyler Junior College Alumni Association is mourning the loss of a Dallas police officer killed in the line of duty who graduated from TJC.
The TJC Alumni Association confirmed Wednesday that Officer Darron Burks, a Dallas police officer who was killed in the line of duty, was a graduate from TJC. The organization said he was a member of the Minority Student Association while at TJC. He later attended Paul Quinn College, and became an educator before becoming a police officer for the Dallas Police Department.
"In both roles he was a profound community leader and mentor," the TJC Alumni Association said.
Burks was shot and killed while on duty Aug. 29. Two other officers with the department's South Central Patrol Division were injured. Dallas Police said the suspect, Cobb-Bey, 30, had been parked near the For Oak Cliff area when Burks arrived to pull off the road between calls, WFAA reports. Police said Cobb-Bey approached Burks' squad car once the officer arrived in the lot, talking to him and filming him with his cell phone. Police said Cobb-Bey then opened fire on Burks while filming. He was later pronounced dead at a neaby hospital.
Police describe Burks' death as an "execution."
Visitation for Burks will be held at Restland Funeral Home in Dallas. Two public visitations will be held: Sept. 6 from 7p.m. - 9 and Sept. 8 from 9 a.m. - 11. A celebration of life will be held Sept. 7 at Watermark Church in Dallas at 11 a.m.