Officer Kevin Will, Houston, Texas Police Department
Memorial Day weekend has historically been a very active weekend for officers to deal with impaired drivers. May 29, 2011 was a special time for The Houston Police Department’s DWI Task Force and Vehicular Crimes Division. Officer Lloyd Morrison, who had been struck by two different impaired drivers Memorial Day Weekend 2009, was making his first visit back to the department and celebrating the holiday with his former co-workers. Vehicular Crimes Investigator Kevin Will was dispatched to work a hit and run crash in the 100 block of the North Loop. Officer Will and other VCD investigators were on the scene for an extended period taking photos and measurements. At approximately 3:15am, Johan Rodriguez disregarded the officers that were blocking the freeway and drove around them at a very high rate of speed. Rodriguez sped up on the closed freeway and struck Officer Will, killing him instantly. The investigation showed that Rodriguez was driving approximately 90 mph and had a BAC of .19.
In June of 2012, Rodriguez pled guilty to Intoxication Manslaughter of a Peace Officer and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. At the time, it was the longest sentence handed out in the State of Texas for a single count of Intoxication Manslaughter.
Kevin Will left behind his wife Alisha, who was pregnant at the time of his death. His son, Kevin Will Jr, was born in August of 2011.
Editor’s note: In conjunction with the National Law Enforcement Memorial Week and Day, MADD honors the nearly 22,000 law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and have been killed in the line of duty in our nation’s history. This year 307 new names have been engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C.
