Police shot and killed a Smith County man after a standoff that began when he shot and killed a constable, authorities said.
After more than three hours, Joseph Earl Walsh, 52, emerged from the house armed and aggressive when Tyler police shot him, said Jean Dark of the Department of Public Safety. He was taken away in an ambulance. Multiple Smith County officials, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Walsh died.
The officials identified the dead officer as Constable Dale Geddie. A second officer, identified as a Smith County Sheriff's deputy, was shot and injured when responding with Geddie to a domestic disturbance call at about 10:43 a.m.
Shawn Walker, a man who identified himself as Walsh's stepson, told Tyler television station KLTV that his father killed an officer. "My stepfather shot the policeman," he said through tears.
Dark, a public information officer for the Department of Public Safety, said Walsh released a woman and a small child from the house before he emerged. The woman and child were seen walking to an ambulance.
Walsh had told officers "it will be over by five o' clock," according to police radio communications. Smith County Sheriff's Lt. Larry Wiginton said the shooter was armed with a deer rifle and at least 150 rounds of armor-piercing ammunition. Other police communications indicated the man had multiple pistols and rifles, and that his father was in a Department of Public Safety vehicle being questioned by officers.
One of Geddie's deputies was seen crying as fellow officers consoled him. Officials said Geddie's parents were brought to the scene.
An officer who was trapped in an unsafe area near the house in northern Smith County was evacuated in an armored personnel carrier after 1 p.m. Blood was visible in the vehicle when the door opened. Dark said all officers who were in immediate danger near the house had been evacuated before Walsh emerged.
Federal, state and local officers surrounded the house, which has metal bars on the windows, and snipers were positioned in the area. The house is near the intersection of Mary Ann Street and Pine Springs Drive, just off U.S. Highway 271 north of Tyler.
Some neighbors were evacuated, and others were told to stay inside their homes away from doors and windows until the standoff ended.
Mark Collette covers Smith County. He can be reached at 903.596.6303. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2006
Dale Geddie and his dad were both long time LEO in the Tyler/Smith County area. They are a good family.
