The Fort Worth Police Department paid tribute to two of its fallen officers, Sergeant Billy Wayne Randolph Jr. and Sergeant Jon Arden Jenson, at the 2025 Texas Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony held Saturday evening on the Texas State Capitol Grounds in Austin.
The moving ceremony and candlelight vigil brought together officers from across the state, along with families and friends, to remember officers who died in the line of duty between 2020 and 2024.
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes and numerous other FWPD officers attended the ceremony to honor the service and sacrifice of Sergeant Billy Wayne Randolph Jr., who died on August 12, 2024, after being struck by a vehicle at a crash scene, and Sergeant Jon Arden Jenson, who died on October 28, 2023, due to complications from contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
Governor Greg Abbott presented the Texas Medal of Honor to family members of fallen officers from across the state.
Sergeant Billy Wayne Randolph Jr., a 29-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department and a United States Air Force veteran, was killed while assisting at a crash scene on Interstate 35. A vehicle drove through barricades and struck him. The driver was later apprehended and charged with intoxication manslaughter.
Sergeant Jon Jensen contracted COVID-19 as a direct result of his duties as a police officer, which required him to interact with the community during the pandemic.
