Special chairs dedicated to Fort Worth police officers who died in the line of duty

An emotional moment as special chairs are unveiled at the Fort Worth Police's Bob Bolen Public Safety Complex.

The chairs represent officers who died in the line of duty.

There's a chair for Corporal Garrett Hull who died in 2018 during a shootout while working undercover.

“Saying our hero’s name out loud for our family keeps them alive,” Officer Hull’s wife Sabrina Hull said. “Gives us one more minute of having them alive with us.”

Another chair represents Officer Dewayne Freeto who was killed when a drunk driver hit his patrol car in 2006. He'd only been on the force 9 months.

“Things like this, it fills my heart to know that he will not be forgotten and that officers will see his name for years to come,” Officer Freeto’s wife Karen Freeto said.

There's also a chair for Henry “Hank” Nava, Jr. who was shot and killed in 2005.

Just like for their families, this has special meaning for their law enforcement family.

“It’s important for us to remember that our fallen heroes are not just pictures on a wall,” Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said. “They are a part of us.”

The nonprofit Saving a Hero's Place presented the chairs. They do this in remembrance, but also as a message to the police academy cadets who attended the dedication.

“The new officers that come in are the ones who need to see these names and look them up and see what happened so the legacy continues,” Tommy Capell with Saving a Hero’s Place said. “We know everybody who is here now and the family we know they are not going to forget. It’s when new officers come in they need to remember.”

Remembering their lives and honoring their sacrifice.

“It won’t bring back our loved ones,” Noakes said. “But I hope it is a reminder to their families that although there will always be an empty seat at their tables we will never forget.”