Roll of Honor
Incident
Detective Tommy Keen succumbed to injuries sustained two days earlier while assisting with recovery efforts following Hurricane Ike.
He had marked on duty and was driving to the station when he encountered a downed tree blocking the roadway in Tumball. He returned to his home, retrieved a chainsaw, and then went back to the location to remove the tree. As he cut the tree, a branch lying against a high-tension wire suddenly shot into the air and struck him in the head.
He was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he died from his injuries two days later.
Detective Keen was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Harris County Sheriff's Office for 35 years. He was scheduled to retire at the end of the following month.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and adult son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-D31C724B- 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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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. Thomas is one person.
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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.
Detective Keen gave the Harris County Sheriff's Office 35 years.
Thank you for your service to the Houston 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
Thomas Luell Keen served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Detective Thomas Luell Keen is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,759 officers honored here.
In TX, 657 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27.1% of this state's fallen. That is 27.1 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Harris County Sheriff's Office, 20 of 56 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 35.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Luell Keen's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Luell Keen Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Luell Keen is highlighted in Sep.
Military Service
Thomas Luell Keen served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Visit Thomas Luell Keen’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
55 officers from Harris County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
