Roll of Honor
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
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 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
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Henry "Hank" Nava, Jr. is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Fort Worth Police Dept., 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.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Henry "Hank" Nava, Jr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Henry "Hank" Nava, Jr. Compares
Offender Outcome
Died in prison
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Henry "Hank" Nava, Jr. is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Henry "Hank" Nava, Jr. was killed by handgun; 9 mm.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
58 officers from Fort Worth Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
