Gas pump reopens where Deputy Darren Goforth was gunned down
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The memorial honoring Deputy Goforth stretches from the parking lot to the landscaped berm at the corner of West and Telge to the very pump where he died.
On it are messages on gas receipts, displayed like badges, from fellow officers.
Some, like Sarah Revier, visited for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
"I wanted to take a moment to pay my respects," she said, "and take it all in and realize that everybody matters."
Others have been here for much of the last two weeks.
Photos from memorial and funeral
Many of them were volunteers helping collect donations for the Goforth family or providing emotional support for those who needed it. They have mixed emotions about the pump reopening.
"It's been real tough," said volunteer Eric Carlson. "It would be hard for me to ever use that pump again to be honest, because I know what when on there. "
But amongst the static, inanimate reminders of what Darren Goforth represents, an Eyewitness News camera caught a living example of what his legacy might be.
Resident Lamont Witchet approached Harris County Deputy Vasquez to thank her and to tell her he appreciates her.
"I'm still at a loss for words," explained Wichet. "They do a job that a lot of people can't do and won't do and they need to be respected for it."
Amongst all of the receipts, and balloons, and hugs, one thing is most evident as life slowly returns to its daily rhythm here: Darren Goforth lived a life that mattered.
