In the shadow of his favorite tree, Janet White reflects on the precious time spent with her husband Randy. She and daughter Jaydn find comfort in the home the couple built together while continually looking to God for the courage to face a new day. Below, she shares stories of Randy as a husband and a father. He’s the man she loves and the man she dearly misses.
Messenger photo by Joe Duty

By Denny Deady

When Sgt. Randy White finished his shift the morning of April 2, he drove home to get some sleep before returning to Bridgeport for a 3 p.m. staff meeting at the police station. His wife Janet, who works for IBM, was working from home. He sat down on the bed and took her hands in his.

“I want you to know how much I love you,” he told her. He asked if she would lay beside him until he fell asleep.

When he awoke and left for the meeting, they hugged and kissed and like always, Janet told him to be careful.

Just three days before that, Randy had asked her if she had a vacation day she could use so that they could stay home together and “just goof around the house.” They spent the entire day together that Monday.

Looking back, Janet is sure God was preparing them. Randy was killed April 2 when his patrol car was rear-ended by a suspect in a high speed chase.

“I can honestly say I have no regrets,” Janet said.

When she kissed her husband of eight years goodbye that day, she thought she was saying goodbye for a day, not a lifetime. But because theirs was a marriage filled with love and expressing that love was a daily occurrence, everything had been said, over and over.

One week after her husband’s death, Janet wanted to address the public. She had spoken at a candlelight vigil prior to his funeral and had written her thanks for the outpouring of sympathy and offers of help to area newspapers. But she wanted to talk about Randy and let people know what kind of father and husband he was. She wanted them to know about his love for children and animals and about his deep Christian faith.

It is that strong faith and a support system provided by her loving family and her family at the Bridgeport Police Department that is helping Janet not only cope but giving her the strength to go on. In the public eye, she has remained strong, recovering quickly during the times she does break down but when she is at home, it’s another story. She has lost the love of her life and faces the reality of that loss.

She is praying for strength for daughter Jaydn’s sake.

“My hope is that God will let me get stronger for the time she breaks,” Janet said tearfully.

Jaydn is a mature 5-year-old and a daddy’s girl. She and her dad loved to walk the land where they live in Jack County, looking for animal tracks. She can identify just about any track. They also went on “treasure hunts,” where they hunted for interesting rocks, oftentimes hiding the rocks to be found later. And they loved to roughhouse.

“We used to laugh that Randy taught her some police moves because she was rough,” Janet recalled.

After the accident, Janet faced the difficult task of telling Jaydn.

“I told her Daddy was in an accident and now he is in heaven,” Janet said.

“Daddy died?” Jaydn asked.

“When I explained it to her, she cried and then said, ‘I’m tired of crying,’” Janet continued.

“I said heaven is a great place and Daddy’s ankle doesn’t hurt anymore,” referring to the pain Randy suffered after an ankle injury in a training exercise.

Jadyn thought about that for a minute and responded, “He’s probably got hair in heaven. He’s probably skinny and not dipping Skoal anymore.”

Janet and Randy were married on March 10, 2001, at the First Baptist Church of Godley, by the same preacher who baptized both Janet and Randy and who participated in Randy’s funeral. Janet was a Godley girl and had graduated from nearby Tarleton State University with a degree in computer information systems. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church where she first met Randy. He was a non-Christian at the time and an alcoholic. He started attending church at the insistence of his aunt, and it didn’t take him long to notice Janet. At first glance, she thought he was too young for her.

But a dozen roses and regular attendance at church activities put him in good standing and they started dating. Randy eventually overcame his problems and proposed to Janet with two dozen roses, 12 red ones representing his love for her and 12 yellow roses representing their friendship. He also included a cross in the bouquet, a reminder that they would always have God in their lives.

After marrying, they built a house in rural Jack County with the help of Janet’s dad, Joe Russell. Janet’s mom, Johnnie, took care of Jaydn during the construction. The entire process, which took 18 months working on weekends, was one wonderful memory after another. Janet and her dad were good at electrical work, and Randy was a natural carpenter. Janet said Randy even took part in decorating the house.

Before Janet returned to their home after the accident, she had thoughts of moving elsewhere, thinking it would be too hard to live there without Randy.

“I was nervous about going back that first night but when I walked in, it felt so calm and comforting. I plan to stay there. I’ll probably start doing some of those projects Randy and I talked about doing,” she said.

That first night home she had trouble falling asleep. Someone else couldn’t sleep that night either. Bridgeport Police Chief Randy Singleton sent Janet a text message, telling her to call if she needed someone to talk to.

“I bet we talked for an hour and a half,” Janet said.

Singleton and his staff will continue to be there for Janet and want her to continue to be involved with the police department.

“The guys at the PD are taking care of me,” Janet said. “They text me several times a day, if only to say they love me.

“This town has really been awesome to us. They have just loved us.”

Janet has never doubted Randy’s love but an experience with breast cancer opened her eyes to just what she had.

“He never left my side at the hospital,” she said. “That experience let me see how wonderful he was. I was out six weeks with the first surgery and couldn’t wait for the second so that we could spend more time together. It gave me the opportunity to know what I really had. I had a double mastectomy, and it wasn’t even a hit on my self-esteem. I always thought he should teach classes for husbands of breast cancer patients.

“The biggest thing I want people to know about Randy was that he was a Christian but not only that, he lived his faith. He wasn’t at church every Sunday because of his job. I’m there every Sunday, but I think he was the better Christian because he shared his faith with others.”

COMFORTING HUG - Janet White holds daughter Jaydn close last week. Their image is reflected in the glass of a picture frame filled with family photos that hangs in their Jack County home.
Messenger photo by Joe Duty

By Phil Major

Bridgeport Mayor Don Majka opened Tuesday’s city council meeting noting it had been a difficult week for the city of Bridgeport.

The police department suffered its first officer lost in the line of duty Thursday, April 2. The same day another city employee was hospitalized for an apparent heart attack, and City Manager Van James’ mother died that day.

“I would personally like to thank the many, many cities that have called,” Majka said, offering support following Sgt. Randy White’s death. He said he had received calls from numerous mayors, and he knew police Chief Randy Singleton had also received many calls.

“I’m proud of the way the city of Bridgeport reacted and the way the staff grouped together and became a family,” Majka said.

Officers from across the state pay their respects at Sgt. Randy White’s funeral

By Travis Measley

The sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Decatur was nearly 1,000-strong Tuesday morning for the funeral of Bridgeport Sgt. Randy White, who was killed in the line of duty on April 2.

Police officers from every department in the county, along with Wise County sheriff’s deputies and Department of Public Safety troopers sat amongst the friends and family. But it didn’t stop there. Hundreds of officers from all over Texas packed the sanctuary to pay their respects.

They came from Fort Worth, Dallas, College Station and Corpus Christi to honor a fallen comrade. From Euless, Grand Prairie, Colleyville and Plano they arrived to show their support for one of their brothers.

Said one officer from a department east of Dallas, “When a police officer falls, it affects us all. It is our duty to show love and support for a brother in arms.”

Mark Sims, who officiated the funeral, gave a clear and conscious message: Sgt. Randy White’s life and his death was not a waste. Sims said White’s death and his passion for life shows that there are things worth fighting for and things worth protecting.

“To leave here today, thinking what a waste of a life White’s death was, dying at 32, that would be the true waste,” Sims said.

True to White’s character as a prankster and a jokester, there were laughs sprinkled amongst the tears.

“When I first met Randy, he was dating my sister,” said John Russell, White’s brother-in-law, with a smile. “So of course, I didn’t like him. But he kind of grows on you. I’m sure he is up in heaven right now, probably pulling some sort of prank on Moses or someone.”

The Bridgeport officers present, after speeches from Chief Randy Singleton and Assistant Chief Steve Stanford, donned University of Oklahoma hats in honor of White and his love for the state of Oklahoma and the Sooners.

Singleton even read a letter written to White’s family by Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, in which he encouraged people to look to men such as White as true heroes and role models instead of celebrities or famous athletes.

“He was a fellow officer, a counselor and a friend,” Stanford said. “He was an example to us all as men on how to lead a godly life.”

The Bridgeport police department will posthumously award White the Medal of Honor, and his ID number, 804, will be transferred over to Janet so that she may always be a part of the Bridgeport police department.

As the funeral ended, each police officer present filed past White’s casket in front of the stage. Every officer paused to salute a hero. It was their way of promising to never forget Sgt. Randy Dewayne White.

Hundreds gather at candlelight vigil for fallen officer

By Travis Measley

The air was silent and still Monday night and not a single flame wavered from the more than 200 candles that brightened the darkened sky as friends, family and loved ones gathered to pay homage to Bridgeport Sgt. Randy White.

People stood six- and seven-deep, side by side with police officers, troopers and deputies from all over the area, hugging, wiping glistening eyes and mourning the death of one of Bridgeport’s finest.

“In the 35 years I have worked in law enforcement, I have never worked with a better man,” said Bridgeport police chief Randy Singleton. “I was, and am, so proud of him.”

White, 32, was killed Thursday, April 2, when a man fleeing from police in a high-speed chase drove his vehicle into White’s parked cruiser. White was trying to clear traffic from the roadway during the high-speed chase.

People from all over the county flocked to Bridgeport Monday to leave flowers and words of encouragement on a lone police cruiser set up in front of the Bridgeport police department with a picture of White.

By the vigil Monday night, the car was almost completely covered in flowers, testament to the impact White had on the community.

“I want to thank everyone for all their love and support through all of this,” Janet White, Randy’s wife, said to the crowd gathered at the vigil. “I was married to the best man in the world. God made him do what he did that day, and I know I will see him again (in heaven). We are going to be OK.”

Most of the attendees took their turn ringing the Liberty Bell, letting the solemn sound resonate across the crowd. Some gathered to pray and some took a moment to lay their hands on the cruiser and White’s picture. Some merely stood, still shocked at the loss of a great man.

David Hall, caretaker of the Liberty Bell that sat outside the police station Monday, summed up the thoughts of many by simply saying, “This is a man to whom honor is due.”

As the crowd blew out their candles and the words of “The Star Spangled Banner” rose softly into the night air, the wind picked up again, just for a moment, to flutter the newly-raised flag, to honor a fallen hero, to remember Sgt. Randy White.

By Kristen Tribe

The death of Sgt. Randy White Thursday most deeply affected his family, but it was also a tragic blow to the Bridgeport Police Department.

In recognition of the department’s grief, the Decatur Police Department and the Wise County Sheriff’s Office covered their patrols and dispatch.

“We wanted to cover for them so they could be together and for support,” said Decatur police chief Rex Hoskins. “They needed to be with their families.”

Decatur officers went on duty in Bridgeport at 5 p.m. Thursday and were to go off duty at 6 p.m. Friday, at which time Wise County sheriff’s deputies were to assist Bridgeport officers until 6 a.m. Saturday.

Hoskins said they also offered to work in Bridgeport the day of White’s funeral and any days leading up to it.

The sheriff’s office also had at least one dispatcher working in Bridgeport Friday. Sheriff David Walker said they wanted to lend support to the Bridgeport officers.

“Wise County is a tight knit group of folks,” he said, “and of course, they would do the same for us.”

At the accident scene on Thursday, Decatur officers, sheriff’s deputies, Department of Public Safety troopers and Boyd officers not only directed traffic, but also worked the wreck for the grieving Bridgeport officers.

By Kristen Tribe

Stephen York was charged with capital murder after he crashed a stolen vehicle into the police car of Bridgeport Sgt. Randy White on Thursday, resulting in White’s death.

In the arrest warrant affidavit filed with Justice of the Peace Terri Johnson, Texas Ranger Jim Holland said he recorded a statement from York while en route to the hospital.

According to the affidavit, York told Holland that he was fleeing from police officers, and he was driving at a high rate of speed.

“(York told Holland that he) observed the police officer in a marked police unit on the side of the highway, and that he intentionally turned his vehicle to ram the vehicle and kill the police officer,” the affidavit states.

Law enforcement officials are also awaiting the results of York’s toxicology tests.

Friday morning York had surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth to repair a broken femur.

He is in the custody of the Wise County Sheriff’s Department, and his bond is set at $1 million.

Sheriff David Walker said he will request to have York moved to either Wise Regional Health System in Decatur or the county jail as soon as he is released from JPS.

In 1990, York was arrested on drug charges and driving under the influence. Although he has not been arrested on drug-related charges since that time, Walker said he was known among the county’s narcotics investigators.

MEMORIAL - Bridgeport police officers are wearing black bands over their badges to honor Sgt. Randy White, a five-year veteran of the department who was killed Thursday.
Messenger photo by Joe Duty

By Denny Deady

As Judy White’s tears flowed uncontrollably Friday, she remembered the son who was the joy of her life. At the same time, she asked for prayers for another mother’s son, the man who is charged with taking her son’s life.

Stephen York is charged with causing the death of Bridgeport Police Sgt. Randy White on Thursday.

“I feel so sorry for his family,” said White, struggling to speak. “He not only turned our world upside down but turned his family’s world upside down as well. They are in my prayers.”

That attitude of forgiveness and reaching out to others is one of the many gifts White gave to her 32-year-old son. His fellow officers remembered him Friday as a “very spiritual, Christian man … a man of God.”   They recalled his willingness to help others, how he carried groceries for elderly residents, how he counseled citizens with problems and how he was the ultimate family man, devoted to his wife, Janet, and 5-year-old daughter, Jadyn.

With the help of Janet’s dad, Joe Russell, Randy and Janet built their home between Perrin and Whitt, in Jack County. White was a carpenter by trade before he entered law enforcement more than six years ago, and he loved working with wood.

His father-in-law recalled the son-in-law who was more like a son to him.

“He was a wonderful Christian man,” said Russell. “He shared his faith in his workplace and with people in distress.” He added that his wife, Johnnie, shares those feelings.

The Russells operate a small ranch, and Joe recalled that Randy enjoyed learning about ranching and loved being around the animals. Joe’s voice trailed as he remembered the last project he and Randy completed together - cleaning out the barn.

White, at 6′2″ and 240 pounds, was described by his mom as being big even as  a child.

“He wore great big ol’ size 13 shoes when he was in the fifth grade,” his mother recalled. “I’m 5′2″ and when he was a little boy, I was already looking up at him.

“He was a funny, neat kid,” she continued, adding, “He was an excellent baseball player.”

She recalled his love for the University of Oklahoma Sooners. He was raised in Moore, Okla., not far from Norman, home of the Sooners. In his office in the Bridgeport Police Department is a red and white OU rug.

Chief Randy Singleton said Texas fans were always wiping their feet on that rug, until this past football season when the Sooners were on top of the rankings.

“This year that rug is spic and span,” said Singleton.

“I wish everyone in town had known Randy like we knew him,” continued Singleton. “They would be so proud of having an officer like him to protect them. He was so smart, so dependable, so committed, so passionate. Those who didn’t know him missed out on knowing one of the most outstanding police officers anywhere.”

“He was a visionary,” said Assistant Chief Steve Stanford.

He said White represented everything he and the chief wanted in an officer as they worked to bring the department up to an unprecedented level of professionalism. His outstanding morals and character were exactly what they were looking for, and they built the department around him.

Sgt. Todd Low, who described White as a “teddy bear,” remembers the positive impression White made on his son Erik, who can be as mischievous as White. He recalled how White could make anyone feel better.

“If you were having a bad day, he would make you feel better,” Low said.

White was on the police department SWAT team and served as the field training officer and patrol supervisor.

“We used him for virtually everything. He was a committee of one,” Singleton recalled.

“When I’d get a call from a citizen, I’d give it to Randy and he would take care of it,” Singleton said. “He’d call and tell me he had taken care of it or the next morning there would be an explanation on my desk of how he’d handled it. I finally told him not to call me because I knew what the outcome would be.”

The close-knit police department, with its 17 officers, is devastated about the loss, and Singleton admits they are all numb.

White’s mother is reeling, but she finds comfort in her faith and in the faith of her son.

“My only relief is knowing Randy is in heaven,” she said.