From Texas, here’s a tale not of cops and robbers, but of cops and rabbits.
The story began with tragedy. On March 26, Texas state trooper Chad Walker pulled over to help a stranded motorist in Limestone County, only to have the motorist, an obviously disturbed young man, open fire on Walker before later driving off and killing himself. Walker, the grandson of the former longtime county sheriff, did not survive.
The next day was supposed to be a happy day of excitement in the Walker home. It was the county fair, and the trooper’s young daughters had rabbits they would be selling.
If you’ve been to Texas, you know livestock shows are a big deal. The most prized rabbits can sell for $1,500 at auction.
When the Walker rabbits went on sale, the crowd knew the tragic story. Bidding kept going all the way up to $7,000.
Wait — it gets better. Most livestock shows allow “add-on” donations from people impressed with the animals and wanting to reward the children for good work in raising them. Add-ons sometimes add up to a few thousand dollars, when people are feeling generous. In this case, the community kept pitching in and adding on and pitching in some more. Before the smoke cleared, fairgoers rewarded the Walker family a full $100,000 for those rabbits.
From two counties away, Mamie Boulware identified with the Walkers’ experience. Her husband Brandon also is a Texas trooper, and her daughter Lauren had just won the award for her prize heifer at the Angelina County fair.
“Being a trooper’s wife, we live with that fear every day, but I know that if the same thing happened in Angelina County, the community would do the same for us,” Boulware said. “When you show livestock, you almost have a family in itself, because when your kids show in any of the fairs, the community comes out.”
There’s a story about cops and communities you don’t read about much these days.
