HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Houston-area law enforcement officers are mourning the loss of one of their own for the second straight day.
HCSO Sgt. Ramon Gutierrez, 45, was a 20-year law enforcement veteran who spent 13 years with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. He died when he was struck during a hit-and-run crash while working a second job escorting an oversized load along Beltway 8 in east Harris County early Monday.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the sergeant’s peers “spoke glowingly” of him. Since June 2020, he served as a supervisor in the Harris County Vehicular Crimes Division.
Sgt. Gutierrez started with the sheriff's office in 2002 and previously served as a detention officer, patrol deputy, and accident investigator
“Anytime we lose a law enforcement hero, it is not just the department that suffers but the entire community’s loss,” the sheriff said.
The sheriff asked the community to continue to support law enforcement as they grieve the loss of another officer after a Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constable was gunned down over the weekend.
Watch Sheriff Ed Gonzalez's full comments below:
“We’re grieving, we’ll get through this,” the sheriff said. “It is incredibly hard when we lose a public servant that has given their entire life in service to the Harris County community.”
Sheriff Gonzalez went on to describe Sgt. Gutierrez as being an “excellent” sergeant who gave exemplary service and was an excellent deputy prior to that.
Sgt. Gutierrez is survived by his wife and three children – a daughter and two sons.
Sheriff Gonzalez described the sergeant as a family man who married his high school sweetheart. His daughter is set to be married in less than two months.
"The scars will be there forever, seared in the family's hearts," the sheriff said. "The father will not be there to walk his daughter down the aisle. You can't put a price on that."
Sean Teare, with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said he worked with Sgt. Gutierrez.
“This sergeant is someone I have known personally for a long, long time,” Teare said. “When you have crashes like this, we’re on these scenes, day in and day out. When it is somebody close to you, it adds an even larger layer to it.”
Watch Sean Teare's full comments below:
Funeral arrangements for Sgt. Gutierrez are pending.