Aug. 17--Constable Rick Starnes said something Thursday that many people in Brazos County have been thinking throughout this strange, sad week.
"It still seems so unreal," said Starnes, the constable for Precinct 3 who was among the law officers who accompanied the body of fallen Constable Brian Bachmann as it was taken from a funeral home in Bryan to one in College Station in preparation for Bachmann's services on Saturday.
"They took the casket out of the hearse and I'm thinking, 'Gosh, that just can't be Brian,'" Starnes said.
He found it hard to believe Bachmann was killed doing a routine part of their job.
Bachmann was slain Monday by Thomas Caffall III, who opened fire on Bachmann as he approached a house on Fidelity Street in College Station to service notice of an eviction hearing on Caffall, who was two months behind on his rent.
Chris Northcliffe, 51, a passerby who had stopped nearby to see what was going on, was killed by gunfire, while Barbara Holdsworth, a 51-year-old Houston woman who was in the area helping her daughter move, was seriously wounded. She remained hospitalized Thursday.
Three police officers were wounded in exchanges of gunfire with Caffall, who was killed. They have all been released from the hospital.
Aside from assisting justice of the peace court proceedings, constables are responsible for delivering civil documents such as warrants, divorce or custody papers, subpoenas and eviction notices.
In Starnes' office, the number of warrants served varies. One week they'll serve 50 or 60 civil papers, then four or five the next.
His chief deputy, Thomas Coleman, a 16-year veteran of the Precinct 3 Constable's Office, said it's rare that he has a confrontation with those being served and he's never come close to being in a situation like the one that ended Bachmann's life.
Coleman said he met Bachmann in the early '90s while working at the Brazos County Sheriff's Office.
He'd just delivered an eviction citation Monday when he heard scanner reports of an officer down. After going to the command center set up at the Lincoln Center a few blocks from the shooting, Coleman said he was assigned to stand guard outside of Bachmann's hospital room with a College Station officer.
Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Michael McCleary, who worked with Bachmann, said Thursday that Bachmann didn't have a bulletproof vest on when he was shot, after saying on Tuesday that the constable had been wearing one.
Throughout Starnes' career, he's kept a bulletproof vest in the back of his car, but as of Wednesday, he said, he started wearing it.
Starnes said after receiving grant funds for new vests a few months ago, he implemented a policy requiring his two deputies to wear them while serving documents.
However, because of fitting and alterations, Coleman's been the only one who's received one so far.
Things have changed somewhat since the shooting, Coleman said.
"Now, I look at the windows more, I'm paying more attention," he said. "But if somebody actually wants to shoot one of us, there's no way we can stop him."
Coleman and Starnes commented on one positive change they've seen since the shooting, saying many residents have stopped them to offer condolences and express gratitude.
"I don't know how many times people have come up to me and said 'thank you,'" Starnes said, adding that a kind stranger paid for his lunch at Luby's Thursday after offering his thanks.
On the way out of Dairy Queen in Bryan after an interview with The Eagle, Starnes was stopped by a woman who said she was sorry for the loss felt by those who knew Bachmann and wanted him to know she was grateful for his and other law enforcement officers' service.
Many who knew Bachmann well have described him as someone truly committed to serving others, whether it be his family, his church or his community, where he was a law enforcement officer for nearly two decades.
"I think I'm a pretty good person and he was a whole lot better than I am," Coleman said.
It will be the community's job to support the victims' survivors, he said, "to check on them, make sure they're alright four or five months down the line, not just for the next three weeks."
Investigators continued to work the shooting scene Thursday. Officials said they spent a significant amount of time collecting the many shell casings left behind after a shootout between Caffall and authorities, some of which were scattered more than a hundred yards away from the home in more than one direction.
The College Station Police Department is expected to release more details about the shooting Friday, and a press conference will be held in the afternoon to update the public on Holdsworth's condition.
In addition to Bachmann's two deputies, his escort between funeral homes included officers from the Brazos County Sheriff's Office, Bryan police and the Precinct 2 and 3 constable's offices.
Bachmann's body will remain at Memorial Funeral Home in College Station until his services at 2 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena.
Copyright 2012 - The Eagle, Bryan, Texas
