Sergeant Ruben Almanza, a 37-year-old Hispanic Corpus Christi Police Department officer and Vietnam War veteran, was killed on July 27, 1984, during a search for a robbery suspect in the 3600 block of Lamont Street. Officers pursued a suspect who had robbed a store, displayed a gun, stolen a vehicle and crashed it into a parked car and a tree on Carroll Lane before fleeing on foot. The suspect fired at officers while hiding in the neighborhood.

Sergeant Almanza was standing behind a fence when the suspect shot him through the fence from an adjacent yard, then jumped over the fence and shot him again while he was on the ground. Almanza was taken to Memorial Medical Center and died the following day. Responding officers shot and killed the suspect after he fired at them again. Almanza had served nine years with the department, was assigned to the Criminal Investigative Division, and was survived by his wife, three daughters, father, brother and eight sisters.

Does anyone have memories of Sergeant Almanza or details about the department and community in Corpus Christi at the time that could add context to his service and sacrifice?