On June 27, 1990, Houston Police Department officer James Bruce Irby, 37, was fatally shot during a routine traffic stop near Airline Drive and Lyerly Street. While Irby spoke with the vehicle’s driver, the passenger, Carl Wayne Buntion, exited the car and shot Officer Irby five times with a .357 handgun. Several bystanders witnessed the shooting, chased Buntion and held him until additional officers arrived; Buntion was arrested at the scene and charged with capital murder.

Court records described Buntion as having a prior criminal history and noted he had been released on parole two months before the shooting. Reports also linked Buntion’s motive to the 1971 death of his brother in a shootout with police. Buntion’s trial was moved to Fredericksburg; a jury convicted him of capital murder in January 1991 and sentenced him to death. Officer Irby is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

If anyone knew Officer Irby, witnessed the shooting, or has information about the events leading up to that traffic stop, please share what is known.