Randall Vetter

Randall Wade "Randy" Vetter (January 24, 1972 - August 7, 2000) was a Texas DPS (Department of Public Safety) State Trooper with the Hays County Sheriff's Office in Texas. On August 3, 2000, Trooper Vetter stopped a 72-year-old driver for not wearing a seatbelt. While Vetter was sitting in his patrol car, the suspect exited his vehicle and opened fire with a rifle. Vetter was struck in the head. He was able to return fire but did not hit the suspect. The suspect then used the police radio in Vetter's patrol car to inform other officers that he had just shot a police officer. He then attempted to flee the scene in his own car. An off duty officer who was passing by, witnessed the shooting and alerted other officers. The suspect was then taken into custody after a brief standoff on the roadway. Vetter died in hospital four days later on August 7, 2000. The suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He later died in prison in 2008.
Confrontation and shootout
On Thursday, August 3, 2000, at around 10:25 a.m., Trooper Vetter pulled over, Melvin Edison Hale, a 72-year-old driver who was not wearing his seatbelt, just south of Austin near IH-35 in Hays County. Hale was known to local officers for claiming he would shoot any officer who tried to write him a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. Six months earlier, another trooper had written a letter warning law enforcement officers to exercise caution around Hale. The trooper said Hale had threatened him with a rifle when he stopped at Hale's ranch to ask about deer hunting on the 125-acre property. Hale was so embittered by delinquent taxes and a ticket for not wearing a seat belt that he swore he would kill to keep his land and avoid jail.
As Hale pulled over off the road, he immediately exited his vehicle armed with a Ruger Mini-14 .223 rifle. He aimed his rifle at Vetter because he believed the traffic stop violated his constitutional rights. Vetter raised his pistol and ordered him to put down the gun. Hale then began walking quickly towards Vetter's police cruiser. Vetter shouted at Hale demanding him to put the weapon down. Hale then fired several shots at Vetter hitting both Vetter and his cruiser. Vetter was able to return fire but he did not manage to hit Hale. A single shot went through the windshield, as Vetter sat in his patrol car, striking him in the head. Vetter then fell sideways out of his patrol car and onto the road.
Hale then used the police radio in Vetter's patrol car to inform other officers that he had just shot a police officer. An off duty officer who was passing by, witnessed the shooting and alerted other officers. Another unit immediately responded to the call and arrived in a patrol car two minutes later. Hale was trying to flee the scene but was confronted by the responding officer. More officers then arrived and a brief standoff on the roadway ensued. Hale continued to walk around his own car and point his gun at the approaching officers who surrounded him from all sides. He eventually got back into his own car and began slowly driving off with the front left door half open. Another officer then drove in front of Hale's car and stopped him in his tracks. The responding officers then approached Vetter and began helping him. Hale meanwhile surrendered and was then taken into custody.
Aftermath
Vetter was quickly rushed to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital but was in critical condition. He died in the hospital four days later on Monday, August 7, 2000 at 10:25 p.m. from the gunshot wound he had suffered, during the traffic stop on August 3. The entire incident was videotaped on Vetter's cruiser dashboard camera. The video is now used throughout law enforcement to train new officers. In 2004, Hays County named Vetter Park after the fallen lawman.
Hale pleaded guilty to the shooting and was sentenced to life in prison. He later died in prison in 2008 at the age of 81. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 a.m. on October 25, 2008 at the Carole Young Medical Facility in Texas City.
Trooper Vetter had served with the Texas Department of Public Safety for six years. He is survived by his wife and son, who was only eight-months-old at the time of the shooting. Vetter was buried in Comal Cemetery in Comal County.

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