Friends, colleagues and members of the public paid their respects Monday to a police officer who was killed in the line of duty Saturday morning.
Sr. Corporal Earl Jamie Givens was killed in a crash while he was blocking traffic for the funeral of fallen officer Tyrone DaVince Andrews.
The candlelight vigil for Givens took place Monday night at the central division at 334 S. Hall Street. A motorcycle was setup as a memorial in his honor. [[488851011,C]]
Public visitation for Officer Givens is Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.
The funeral is 11 a.m. Thursday at Prestonwood Baptist Church. It is also open to the public.
Givens was stopped, blocking traffic along the eastbound entrance ramp to Interstate 20 at Bonnie View Road with his emergency lights activated when, police say, he was struck by Adrian Breedlove's Kia Sportage about 5:30 a.m. Saturday.
Breedlove faces charges of intoxication manslaughter and unlawful carrying of a weapon. He has since bonded out of jail. [[488803211,C]]
Givens was described as a big man, with a big smile and a big heart.
Among those who spoke during the vigil was DPD traffic officer Kevin Nickell.
Nickell said Givens was known to let veterans and the elderly off with a warning instead of a ticket.
"It got to the point where I would go to him and say, 'Hey Jamie, what are you doing? We're motor jocks. We're known to write our own mothers tickets. What are you doing letting all these people go?' But he said 'Aw, never mind I'll just get the next one.' That's just the heart he had."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall spoke directly to Givens' mother during the ceremony, recounting the moment she was informed that her son had died.
"After you shed a tear you asked us about the individual who had struck him and your words were, 'Is he okay?' We answered, 'He is in custody,' and you said, 'I'm not concerned about that. I just want to make sure everybody is okay and no one else dies.' I say that we are encouraged by those words today," Hall said . "Because those are the words of our heavenly Father."
There is a Harley Davidson motorcycle parked inside a garage at DPD's Central Substation. It belonged to Givens. He had recently purchased it for his upcoming retirement.
Givens left behind a wife and two sons.
Since July 2016, six Dallas police officers have been killed in the line of duty, two in the past three months.
