The patrol car used by a North Texas police officer when he was slain in 2005 was unveiled by his family members and now sits on display in the city he served.
Officer Henry "Hank" Nava's patrol car, which has been decorated with messages, was unveiled and officially set on display Saturday at the Fort Worth Police and Fire Administration Building in his memory.
"We lost a little piece of us that day, but it definitely feels like a little piece of us is coming home and to see everyone excited about it makes us excited and very thankful for the community and Fort Worth," his daughter, KayLeigh Nava, said at the ceremony.
Nava was only 9 years old when her father died in December 2005 after being shot while serving a warrant. The shooter was convicted of capital murder and sentence to life in prison without parole.
"It’s been up and down for 14 years. You never get over a loss like we've experienced. We have good days and we have bad days," said Teresa Nava-Salazar, Nava's widow. "Even though our life has gone on, we still hit those days where all those memories come flooding back to us on what happened that day and the man that we lost."
At the time, officials did not have an immediate law enforcement site in Fort Worth to display Nava's patrol car. It has been at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville, Florida, since 2007.
Four police officers with the Fort Worth Police Department hauled the patrol car back to Texas.
"They were on the track practicing. They’re all motor officers, and I saw the trailer they had. For me, I was like, 'the car can fit in that trailer,'" acting Assistant Chief Robert Allredge recalled. "It’s unmatched by anything that I probably have ever done."
The cost to move it was funded by the Fort Worth Police Historical Association.
Association president Marty Humphrey said the notes and messages on the car were collected immediately after Nava died.
"One thing we did not realize just in that moment was just how much the community was also grieving," Humphrey said. "It showed the department how much the citizens of Fort Worth cared, not only about Hank but every one of our officers."
