KINGSVILLE, Texas — Flags were at half-staff across the city of Kingsville to honor fallen Patrol Officer Sherman Benys.
The longtime officer died early Thursday morning from the injuries he sustained when he was shot while responding to a domestic violence call on Tuesday.
Kingsville City Manager Mark McLaughlin was saddened to hear the news of Benys' passing.
"Obviously a tragedy for this community, the city, and the county," McLaughlin said. "Officer Sherman Benys was well-known and well respected.”
Officers at the Kingsville Police Department and next door at the Kleberg County Sheriff's Department were mourning the loss of their colleague Thursday. That included Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick.
"I've known Sherman for a better part, all of my professional career, and beyond that," Kirkpatrick said. "So it’s a devastating loss for all of us and he’s going to be severely missed.”
Joe Munoz is the President of the Kingsville Police Department Former Officers and Employees Association. He and his organization started a GoFundMe account to raise money to help the Benys family.
"We are currently the clearinghouse for donations to come through," Munoz said. "We started a GoFundMe account. Actually, we started it Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Sherman was shot, and it’s been very successful.”
Munoz said the goal was to raise $20,000 dollars. So far they’ve collected $30,000 and are now looking to get to $50,000. They will then hand the money over to the officer’s family.
Former Corpus Christi City Councilman Mark Scott knew Sherman Benys from their college days at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Both were in the Sigma Chi fraternity. Scott said that he and his fellow fraternity members are looking for ways to help the family of their fallen brother.
"He was so grateful to be a police officer," Scott said. "It meant such a great deal to him."
Scott also said Benys had many hobbies that he pursued when he wasn't in uniform.
"And when he wasn’t being a police officer he was doing fun things. He loved BBQ. He loved to hunt. Loved to play golf," Scott said. "I mean, Sherman never sat still. He was a man who lived life to its fullest.”
While Benys' accomplishments will always be celebrated, those he touched throughout his life will miss the man who swore to protect and defend the community of Kingsville.
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