Hundreds gather to honor Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph. He was a ‘cop’s cop’

With flags at half-staff, police vehicles lining the streets and a Fort Worth fire truck holding a huge American flag over a stage, hundreds gathered Wednesday to honor and remember Sgt. Billy Randolph.

Randolph, a police officer in Fort Worth for 30 years, was killed Monday while working a fiery crash on Interstate 35W, near Sycamore School Road, where an 18-wheeler spilled fuel and caught fire, according to police. A memorial has been set up at the police station since his death.

He’s being remembered by family and friends as a husband, father and grandfather who was passionate about serving his community and country.

Wednesday night, family, friends, police officers and others outside the Fort Worth police South Division station. They shared memories, lit electric candles and recognized that Wednesday would have been Randolph’s birthday by singing “Happy Birthday.” He would have been 57 years old.

Matt Randolph, Randolph’s brother, said he was 14 when Randolph joined the Air Force. Four years later, his older brother called and told him he was getting out of the military and going to join the Fort Worth police.

Billy Randolph was described as “a cop’s cop,” a leader who wouldn’t ask anybody to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Being a cop wasn’t just a job to Randolph, his younger brother said during the vigil. He joined law enforcement to help people, and he carried that mindset with him everywhere. Even on vacation, Randolph would “have his head on a swivel,” looking for trouble or for anybody who needed help.

That’s how the phrase, “Damn it, Billy,” came about, Matt Randolph said. It was repeated by Matt Randolph and officers who knew the sergeant throughout the night.

“ ‘Damn it, Billy’ means “Damn it, Billy, you found more bad guys,” Matt Randolph said he learned from those who worked with his older brother.

His insistence that he do the same jobs he asked of officers under his command was a recurring theme as people took the stage to speak. They said Randolph would respond to the worst calls.

That, Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said at a news conference Monday, was why he was there on the interstate to begin with. He could have delegated the work to officers under his command, but he wasn’t that type of leader.

Authorities said Randolph was hit by DeAujalae Evans, 25, when she drove the wrong way on the exit ramp to Sycamore School Road. Investigators think she was drunk, and court records show she was on probation.

Jake Montgomery, an officer who worked under Randolph, said the sergeant had the respect of those he commanded. He also had respect of people in the community who knew him, Montgomery said. Not least because he lived in the same area he policed.

Randolph asked to be assigned to South Division, and asked to be on the midnight shift, Noakes said.

Another sergeant said it wasn’t common to see a man with Randolph’s years in the department on the midnight shift, something that was repeated by other officers.

“First thing I thought was, ‘What is this old dog doing on the midnight shift running around with the young guys?’ “ the sergeant said.

While many people cried recalling time spent with Randolph, others laughed, too.

His age got him the nickname “Pepaw,” though Montgomery joked that was only when officers “were outside the range of his hearing aids.”

Caleb Knotts said Randolph was his sergeant for three years. He taught him a lot about being a good police officers.

“He’s also the reason I have an 80-pound pit bull in my garage,” Knotts said.

He was on patrol with Randolph one day when they came across the pit bull, at the time just a puppy, in a park. Knotts said many officers would move on or call animal control, but Randolph reached into a bag and pulled out a leash. He secured the dog, and Knotts ended up being the one to give it a new home.

The experience Randolph brought to that shift made him a better mentor for the younger officers assigned to the late shift.

One officer, a duty shift supervisor who didn’t share his name, recalled one time officers responded to a shooting in the middle of a street. When police discovered it was a suicide, Randolph started sending officers away to other calls or home.

That’s when the officer said he learned that Randolph’s son was dead.

“It was the anniversary of his son’s death,” the officer said. “He didn’t call it the anniversary, he called it the ‘angelversary.’ “

He recalled Randolph telling him how he hated what the parents were going to feel when they got the notification in the morning. He said they would feel anger, pain and loss.

Matt Randolph ended his time sharing memories of his brother with what he has been told Randolph said to officers every time he sent them out for their shift after a briefing: “Go forth, conquer, stay safe and take care of each other.”

“I love you,” Matt Randolph said after tearfully reciting the line. “Damn it, Billy, I miss you.”

The family will have a celebration of life for Randolph at 10 a.m. Saturday at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth. Tarrant County Blue is working to raise money to help Randolph’s family.