Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief of Police Billy Tom Gordon died of a heart attack shortly after he was invovled in a foot pursuit with an escaped prisonor.
Chief Gordon received a request for assistance from a Garza County deputy sheriff in regards to an escaped prisoner from the county jail. After a three block chase on foot in the summer heat, the deputy and Chief Gordon captured the prisoner. The chief returned to his office and reported feeling exhausted and laid down on a couch. Shortly thereafter he was reported to be having trouble breathing. Two doctors arrived but were unable to revive the him. He died at 10:00 am.
He had been Chief of Police in Post for three years and was a Garza County deputy sheriff for two years prior to that. Previously he served as an officer in Brownfield (Terry County), a deputy sheriff in Haskell County, and Chief of Police in Haskell. He was also a veteran of WWII.
Chief Gordon is survived by his wife, daughter, and son.
The Post Police Department has since been absorbed by the Garza County Sheriff’s Office.
Survivors
Chief Gordon is survived by his wife, daughter, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-9194442A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Chief of Police Gordon served with the Post Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Post community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Billy Tom Gordon served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief of Police Billy Tom Gordon is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 88 of 2,421 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.6% of this state's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Billy Tom Gordon's cause is highlighted.
How Billy Tom Gordon Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Billy Tom Gordon is highlighted in Aug.