The Dallas Police Department unveiled a portrait of fallen Officer Darron Burks during a ceremony at the department’s South Central Patrol Division, reaffirming its commitment to preserving his legacy two years after he was ambushed in his squad car.<\/p>\n
The ceremony served as a solemn tribute to Burks, with department leaders, officers, family members and fraternity brothers gathering to honor his life and service.<\/p>\n
“This is just another way of letting you know that we will never forget Officer Burks,” Chief Daniel Comeaux said during the ceremony.<\/p>\n
Comeaux said the portrait will stand as a permanent reminder of Burks’ sacrifice.<\/p>\n
“He will forever be remembered, honored, and respected, and the portrait will stand there forever,” Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
Burks’ family was welcomed with honors during the ceremony. Deputy Chief Jordan Colunga credited Burks’ character and dedication, saying his passion and drive defined the way he served the department.<\/p>\n
Colunga also praised Burks’ mother, Cherie Burks Jeffrey, for the strength she has shown since her son’s death.<\/p>\n
“The courage you showed, the bravery during this whole process. It really did transfer to our officers,” Colunga said.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey spoke publicly for the first time since her son’s funeral, expressing gratitude to those who have continued to honor her son’s memory.<\/p>\n
“I appreciate you so much,” Jeffrey said.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey reflected on Burks’ life of service, noting he first worked as a teacher before becoming a Dallas police officer.<\/p>\n
“I am so proud of the life that he lived. I am so proud that he has displayed what he has learned and what God has instilled in him to love people. Because that’s one thing I can say is that he loved people,” Jeffrey said.<\/p>\n
Lt. Frederick Mears also remembered Burks’ impact on those who served alongside him.<\/p>\n
“Burks was our hero. Burks was an outstanding man,” Mears said.<\/p>\n
The loss also resonated deeply with Burks’ Omega fraternity brothers, including Comeaux, who said he learned of the officer’s death while serving with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Houston.<\/p>\n
“Even though I wasn’t in Dallas yet, I felt it in Houston, what was happening in Dallas,” Comeaux said.<\/p>\n
For Jeffrey, her faith continues to provide comfort as she remembers her son.<\/p>\n
“I know that he is in heaven with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Lord. And I know one day I will see his face. I will see my son’s face,” Jeffrey said.<\/p>\n
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Police Department unveiled a portrait of fallen Officer Darron Burks during a ceremony at the department’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,22644],"class_list":["post-400730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-in-memoriam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}