Roll of Honor
Joe F. Gurney
Incident
Sergeant Joe Gurney succumbed to injuries received when his horse fell on him while he was guarding inmates at the Beto I Unit at 1391 Farm-To-Market Road in Tennessee Colony. Sergeant Gurney was pursuing a runaway horse that had escaped. During the pursuit, he was thrown from his horse, and his horse fell on top of him. He was stabilized at the infirmary before being transported to the Tyler Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries. Sergeant Gurney was a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, two daughters, parents, and sister.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-68BDDB3E- 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.
Sergeant Gurney gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community, and 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
Joe F. Gurney served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sergeant Joe F. Gurney is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, 32 of 124 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Joe F. Gurney's cause is highlighted.
How Joe F. Gurney Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joe F. Gurney is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
123 officers from Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
