Did rage ignite chain of events which led to a local cop’s death?

Taking the life of another human being is among the most difficult acts in life to fathom. There are certain exceptions such as war, self-defense, sheer accident or mercy although even many of those who kill another in such circumstances are forever left asking why such actions had to happen.

Rage, however precipitated, is among the most baffling reason for which one kills another. Perhaps when 30-year-old John Wesely Nero gets his day in court on capital murder charges will we find if rage or other matters caused him to assault relatives and lead police on a chase that ended with the death of a Beaumont, Texas police officer.

A probable cause affidavit issued prior to an arrest warrant charging Nero with capital murder stated 10-year Beaumont Police Department veteran Officer Bryan Mitchell Hebert was standing beside his patrol car in a turning lane in the 500 block of Dowlen Road sometime after 10 p.m. Saturday evening, July 9. Hebert was about to set out spikes used for deflating tires in car chases after other officers were chasing Nero’s SUV over a wide section of the city’s West End.

The affidavit describes the violent crash and subsequent police officer death that followed:

“As Nero approached Officer Hebert’s vehicle, which had its emergency lights operating, witnesses stated Nero made no attempt to slow his vehicle down, but instead directed his vehicle toward Officer Hebert’s clearly visible patrol vehicle which Officer Hebert was standing next to. Nero’s vehicle struck Officer Hebert’s vehicle and Officer Hebert.”

Hebert, 36, was taken to a local hospital but did not survive. Nero was seriously injured but his injuries were not classified as “life-threatening” by the police.

Police Chief Frank Coffin told local reporters that earlier that evening, Nero had been confronted by his sister and grandmother over alleged child pornography the suspect had been viewing. Nero allegedly assaulted the two relatives before leaving the residence in the 5900 block of Chisholm Trail, near State Highway 105. The affidavit states that Nero’s mother indicated the suspect threatened to kill everyone if the police were called.

Officers were called a second time to the residence after Nero returned but he left before police arrived. A car fitting the description of the SUV driven by Nero was found a short time later behind a Kohl’s department store about 1.5 miles from the Chisholm Trail residence. Nero fled upon seeing officers and led police on a chase that lasted about seven minutes, according to the arrest affidavit. The chase set in motion Hebert stopping to deploy the deflation spikes and what police say was a deliberate crash of Nero’s SUV into the patrol car and Hebert.

Nero was taken to a hospital and was listed in serious condition although police characterize his injuries as non life-threatening.

Language in the affidavit points out that Hebert was wearing his Beaumont Police Department uniform, badge and insignia, all of which were clearly visible. Texas Penal Code Section 19.03 says in the case of one charged with Capital Murder:

” … the person murders a peace officer or fireman who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the person knows is a peace officer or fireman … ”

Whether the fact that Hebert was standing near the trunk of his patrol car when it was struck head-on, and in the dark, leaves open a defense that Nero was just trying to hit the car and perhaps perpetrate a suicide by cop car. Or, Nero could always plead guilty.

Hebert was on the list to make sergeant, published reports said. The deceased officer, who resided in Lumberton, is single and survived by his parents, a sister, grandparents, other relatives and his German shepherd, Apollo. A 1993 graduate of Port Neches-Groves High School, he also graduated the regional police academy at Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont.

Some 17 Beaumont Police Department officers have died in the line of duty since the 1880s. The most recent was Officer Lisa Beaulieu, who was struck and killed while working a traffic accident in April 2007.

A personal note: I didn’t know Officer Hebert. I have seen him around and talked to him a few times. I may even have dealt with him adversely. But I have had relatives and a number of friends who were police officers as well as firefighter and paramedics, in regular life and in my professional life as a firefighter/EMT and later as a reporter. Several people whom I have known well died in the line of duty: Deputy Tom Sitton of the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Department, who was shot and killed during a domestic call; Officer Charles Billeck, Corrigan, Tx, Police Department, who was killed in a head-on collision only a block away from me and I arrived just minutes after the tragic two-fatality accident happened; Officer James O’Brien, Temple, Tx, Police Department (formerly Corrigan PD), who died when his police motorcycle colided with a car; Capt. Ed Ivy, Nacogdoches Fire Department, who died of a heart attack while at a training session.

Now, perhaps of rage, another of those who serve to protect their communities is gone.

Such are dangerous jobs those have who protect life, limb and property, and if one has any appreciation for those who try to protect us they should at least give pause and think about what it is such folks do.

Services for Officer Hebert will be held at 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Beaumont Civic Center, 701 Main Street, near the police station. Burial will follow at Oak Bluff Cemetery in Port Neches, TX.