Deputy Sheriff Suzanne Lee Kays, 33, was shot and killed on January 4, 1989, while on duty with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department in Texas. She was escorting a man released from the Lew Sterrett Justice Center when he suddenly attacked her, took her weapon during the struggle, and shot her. Officers later confronted the assailant and shot him in the legs and groin after he refused to drop the gun.

Kays was a United States Army veteran and had graduated from her academy class only one week before the incident. She had been in law enforcement for four years and was on her second shift as a sworn deputy. Her funeral was held January 6, 1989, at Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Garland; the Suzanne L. Kays Detention Facility was later named in her honor.

The attacker, described as having a history of mental problems, was found incompetent to stand trial, sent to a Texas mental institution, later convicted and sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years, and died in prison on October 2, 1992. Does anyone have memories of Deputy Kays or new information about the escort procedure that day?