Waco Honors Trooper Daniel Shown With Granite Memorial
A permanent memorial now stands outside the Waco DPS office for the trooper who died 30 years after being shot in the line of duty.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Law Enforcement
A permanent granite memorial honoring Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Daniel Shown was unveiled outside the Waco DPS office. Shown died February 27, 2026 from complications of a 1988 shooting wound.
Why it matters
Shown is considered to have died in the line of duty, and the memorial formally recognizes his service decades after he was wounded. The granite marker joins 104 other troopers across the state honored in the same manner.
Shown was shot in the head on December 18, 1988 while responding to a call and lost his right eye, with half his body paralyzed. The source does not detail any ongoing investigation or legal proceedings connected to the 1988 shooting.
The players
Daniel Shown
Daniel Shown was a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stationed in Waco who was shot in the line of duty in 1988 and died three decades later from complications.
Texas Department of Public Safety
The Texas Department of Public Safety is the state law enforcement agency responsible for highway patrol and state policing across Texas, and it operates the Waco office where the memorial stands.
The details
Shown fought his injuries for three decades before dying from complications on February 27. The granite memorial was unveiled outside the Waco DPS office, where it will stand as a permanent tribute to his service.
Timeline
December 18, 1988: Shown was shot in the head while responding to a call.
February 27, 2026: Shown died from complications of his wound.
November 6, 2026: Permanent memorial was unveiled outside the Waco DPS office.
Legal Context
Shown's memorial extends the Texas DPS practice of honoring fallen troopers in granite, where 104 other troopers across the state are already commemorated. The unveiling continues a tradition of formally recognizing line-of-duty deaths even when they occur decades after the original incident.
Waco residents visiting the DPS office will now see a permanent granite marker recognizing Shown's service. The memorial offers a public place to acknowledge a trooper whose injuries shaped three decades of his life.
The takeaway
Line-of-duty deaths can follow an officer for decades, and formal recognition often arrives long after the original incident. Memorials like Shown's preserve those stories for the communities they served.
Further reading
Explore more law enforcement coverage to see how agencies across the region honor officers killed in the line of duty.
