Henry Nava Jr.
Officer

Henry Nava Jr.

Fort Worth Police Department — Fort Worth, TX
Felonious
End of Watch December 1, 2005
Age 39
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
The Vigil Panel 153 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Officer Henry Nava died of a gunshot wound he received two days earlier when he attempted to arrest a man on a felony warrant.

He and two other officers went to the suspect's home on Seth Barwise Street, near Brahma Trail, to arrest him on a parole violation warrant. The officers were invited inside the residence by a female who resided there. The female gave the officers verbal consent to enter and search for the suspect after stating to them that the man was not at the location. As the officers entered she alerted the suspect by stating loudly "the police are here and are going to search the house." As Officer Nava opened a bedroom door, the man emerged with a 9mm handgun and shot Officer Nava in the head, just above the left eye.

After shooting Officer Nava, the man fled to a nearby home where he took the female resident hostage for two hours, before releasing her and surrendering to police.

Officer Nava was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital where he died two days later from his wound.

The subject was convicted of capital murder on November 13th, 2007. He later died in prison.

Officer Nava had served with the Fort Worth Police Department for 14 years. He had previously served with the Austin Park Police Department for three years and the Plano Police Department for one year.

Survivors

He is survived by his wife, daughter, and son.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-637F01C6
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Officer Nava gave the Fort Worth Police Department 18 years.
Thank you for your service to the Fort Worth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Nava.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Other
Location Fort Worth, TX
Platform Identity fwpd.tarrant.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 1, 2005
Tour of Duty 18 yrs
Age 39
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Handgun; 9 mm

Officer Henry Nava Jr. is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.

In TX, 1,461 of 2,422 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.3% of this state's fallen. That is 60.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Fort Worth Police Department, 33 of 59 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 55.9% of this agency's fallen.

Fort Worth Police Department
33
of 59 officers
55.9% Felonious
TX — Statewide
1,461
of 2,422 officers
60.3% Felonious
Nationwide
1
of 97,772 officers
0% Felonious

National Cause Distribution

How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry Nava Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How Henry Nava Jr. Compares

Age at Death
39
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 39.0 years
Years of Service
18
This officer
Avg for Felonious: 8.4 years

When Felonious Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Henry Nava Jr. is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
1,392
Feb
1,295
Mar
1,373
Apr
1,516
May
1,504
Jun
1,442
Jul
1,587
Aug
1,517
Sep
1,491
Oct
1,371
Nov
1,447
Dec
1,624

Weapons Used Against Officers

Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Henry Nava Jr. was killed by handgun; 9 mm.

Handgun
3,684
Gun
3,592
Gun; Unknown type
1,492
Shotgun
1,109
Rifle
935
Officer's handgun
909

Incident Location