Dallas Marks One Year Since Officer Darron Burks’ Death

Dallas is marking one year since Officer Darron Burks — a beloved fraternity brother and former math teacher who later in life pursued a career in law enforcement — was fatally shot while waiting for an assignment in his squad car in southeast Oak Cliff.

The officer’s death on the night of Aug. 29, 2024, was deeply felt across his many circles. Tributes poured in before and after his burial, some of which are lasting: His name, for example, is now etched into the polished granite of Austin’s Texas Peace Officers’ Memorial, on Row A’s 38th panel, 16th line.

Others are forthcoming, including a memorial park with an outdoor classroom and playground not far from the For Oak Cliff parking lot where he was killed.

Two officers who responded to the parking lot that night after a keen dispatcher picked up on an odd noise from Burks over the radio were fired upon when they arrived. Those officers, Sr. Cpls. Karissa David and Jamie Farmer, were wounded and hospitalized. David was left blind.

Police pursued the gunman from Oak Cliff into Lewisville, where officers fatally shot him after he emerged from his sedan with a firearm. Six Dallas officers fired their weapons, police said.

A Dallas County grand jury that reviewed the officers’ actions has since cleared them, according to Lt. Tramese Jones, a department spokesperson.

The investigation into the shooting of Burks, David and Farmer is closed, Jones said.

A wreath and a portrait of Dallas police Officer Darron Burks are seen before funeral services at Watermark Community Church on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Dallas.

Smiley N. Pool / AP

Who was Darron Burks?

Those who knew Burks described him as someone others could always lean on — whether in the classroom, at church, in his fraternity or within his newest home: the police department.

Born on Aug. 8, 1978, in Little Rock, Ark., Burks grew up in Dallas, his obituary states. His 46 years of life had a through line of providing service to others, including in his younger years.

He attended Forest Meadow Junior High School and graduated from Lake Highlands High School before later attending Paul Quinn College, a private historically Black college in Dallas known as the oldest HBCU west of the Mississippi River.

In college, Burks played football, as he had in high school, and pledged the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He earned the nickname “Pure Dawg” for his reputation as a leader.

Once he was armed with a college degree, Burks got a job teaching math at Texans CAN Academies, a charter school that helps students recover credits to graduate. He worked there for more than a decade.

Burks also worked with Boy Scouts of America, serving as a troop guide for an adult leadership course run by the organization.

Later on, Burks prayed about how he could better serve, which led him to law enforcement. He joined the Dallas Police Department, graduating with police academy Class 392 in December 2023.

He was ultimately assigned to the department’s South-Central Patrol Division, where he was working the night of his death.

Burks’ funeral was held the morning of Sept. 7 at Watermark Community Church, where mourners from all of his lives — from law enforcement peers to former students and fraternity members — filled the church’s large sanctuary.

Cherie Jeffery (right) raises her arms in worship during funeral services for her son, Dallas police Officer Darron Burks, at Watermark Community Church on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Dallas. Burks was shot and killed in Oak Cliff on Aug. 29, 2024.

Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer

Who was the gunman?

During a news conference held the day after Burks’ death, then-Dallas police Chief Eddie García said investigators had uncovered evidence the alleged gunman, identified as