BPD officer killed; Chief says chase suspect may have aimed car at officer

(4 a.m. Saturday update) - BEAUMONT - 36-year-old Ofc. Bryan Mitchell Hebert, a 10 year veteran of the Beaumont Police Department, has been killed after a suspect involved in a chase appeared to take aim at the officer's patrol car and deliberately strike it while Hebert was outside the vehicle Friday night trying to stop the suspect on Dowlen Road near Ivanhoe, close to Phelan, according to Chief Frank Coffin of the Beaumont Police Department.

During a 4 a.m. Saturday news conference, Beaumont Police Chief Frank Coffin said police will seek to have the 30-year-old suspect charged with Capital Murder because, according to witnesses, the man intentionally aimed his car at Ofc. Hebert and his patrol unit.

Police aren't releasing the man's name because he hasn't been charged.

Ofc. Veronica Payton told KFDM anchor Bill Leger at the scene that Ofc. Hebert had stopped on Dowlen near Ivanhoe at about 10:40 p.m. Friday and had gone to the back of his unit to pull out spike strips to stop the 30-year-old chase suspect, who was driving a 2008 Maroon Dodge Nitro. The suspect swerved and struck the front of the officer's unit head-on, pushing the back of the patrol unit into the officer while he was still behind it.

The officer was taken to Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth where he died.

Officer Hebert wasn't married and had no children. He's survived by his parents and other relatives.

The suspect was taken to Christus and has non-life threatening injuries. Toxicology tests will be done on the suspect, which is standard procedure in such an investigation. 

Chief Coffin said the man lives in the 5900 block of Chisholm Trail in Beaumont with his mother. Coffin said earlier Friday evening the suspect's mother and grandmother caught him looking at what they thought was child pornography, and when they confronted him about that he became enraged. Coffin said the man struck his mother and grandmother and left the home. There are also reports he may have threatened them with a gun. Police didn't find a gun in the man's car.

Officers spotted the man behind Kohl's later Friday evening and tried to speak with him but say he sped away. They say he led officers on a chase at a high rate of speed on Dowlen Road to Highway 69 near Parkdale. The pursuit continued on Highway 69 South to Interstate 10. The suspect exited I-10 at College and turned right on Dowlen.

Ofc. Hebert parked in the turning lane on owlen near Ivanhoe and was behind his vehicle, preparing to get spike strips to stop the vehicle, when the suspect's SUV swerved and struck the patrol car head on. The impact pushed the rear of the patrol car into the officer.

Police have interviewed several witnesses. They believe a number of people saw what happened and they're asking the witnesses to call Beaumont Crime Stoppers at 833-TIPS to provide more information. 

Port Arthur Police Chief Mark Blanton told KFDM News he's sending about "half of his force" to Beaumont to help patrol and provide whatever assistance they can while Beaumont Police mourn the death of their colleague.

Until Friday night, the last Beaumont officer killed in the line of duty was Lisa Beaulieu on April 27, 2007 when she was struck by a drunk driver while she was providing traffic assistance at an accident scene on the Eastex Freeway near Delaware.

Ofc. Hebert was sworn in on January 19, 2001. He'd been a correctional officer prior to joining the Beaumont Police Department. KFDM News interviewed Hebert when he took the oath of office.

"I've been in quite a few stressful situations at the jail, and you kind of know yourself better going into that," said Ofc. Hebert on January 19, 2001. "You know how you're going to react in different situations. The jail's better prepared me for this, matured me a little better, dealing with the criminal type, being out at the jail has made me learn a lot of my limits."

Ofc. Hebert is now the 17th Beaumont Police Officer to die in the line of duty since 1881. You can learn more about the lives of previous officers lost by visiting the Beaumont Officer's Memorial website by clicking here.

Stay with KFDM and kfdm.com for further details about the Beaumont officer's death Friday night.