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Harold Lloyd Preston
Agency patch
Sergeant

Harold Lloyd Preston

Houston Police Department — Houston, TX
Felonious
United States flag Texas flag
End of Watch October 20, 2020
Age 65
Tour of Duty 41 yrs
The Vigil Panel 383 · Column 3 · Line 2 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 116

Incident

Sergeant Harold Preston was shot and killed at about 9:30 am as he and other officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in an apartment complex in the 2600 block of Holly Hall Street.

Police were called to the scene by a woman who had been locked out of her apartment by her estranged husband and was attempting to retrieve belongings. Other officers had been to the apartment two additional times in the preceding days for domestic disturbance calls. Sergeant Preston and the other officer spoke to the woman for approximately an hour before her 14-year-old son managed to unlock the apartment door and encountered his father holding a gun.

The man then opened fire, striking Sergeant Preston numerous times in the head and upper body. The other officer and juvenile were also wounded. The man surrendered approximately one hour later.

Sergeant Preston had served with the Houston Police Department for 41 years and was scheduled to retire in the coming weeks.

Survivors

He is survived by his elderly parents, whom he cared for, and fiancée.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

41 years. You could have gone home.
Sergeant Preston gave the Houston Police Department 41 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Houston community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Sergeant Preston.

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

Agency

Department Houston Police Department
Type Police Department
Location Houston, Harris County, TX
Platform Identity hpd.harris.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch October 20, 2020
Tour of Duty 41 yrs
Age 65
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious
Cause Detail Gunfire
Weapon Gun; Unknown type

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Harold is one of 15,742 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

34,102 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

  3. See the roll
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Compare against
I

Time

In 2020, 61 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 123rd heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Harold was 65. Of the 14,219 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Harold had served 41 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

October holds 7.9% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Tuesdays: 13.4%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun; unknown type, in 9.5% of these deaths.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Houston Police Department has 117 officers remembered here, Harold among them.

Across the years
VI

Where

Sergeant Harold Lloyd Preston

Houston Police Department · End of Watch October 20, 2020

Where the Name Is Cut

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 13-E

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