Let us be in constant prayer for the family of this hero, Police Chief Michael Pimentel, who was assassinated by a thug. Let us keep the Police force and the community of Elmendorf, Texas in our prayers. Elmendorf is a small Texas town just southeast of San Antonio. Chief Pimental was fatally shot Saturday while conducting a traffic stop.
Bexar County Sheriff Susan Parmerleau reports that Pimentel was shot after pulling over Joshua Lopez, 24, to serve an active misdemeanor warrant for graffiti. Parmerleau said that Lopez shot Pimentel several times. He was struck in the shoulder and abdomen and pronounced dead at a hospital.
“I tried talking to him when he was in the ambulance for a brief moment, but he wasn’t conscious,” Sgt. Jason Burchett said. “Today is proof it doesn’t matter if you’re a small department, you think nothing can happen. Things certainly do.”
Lopez was taken into custody without incident, Parmerleau said, and was charged with capital murder for shooting a police officer.
Lopez remained in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on Sunday. His bond was set at $1 million.
Elmendorf, located approximately 25 miles southeast of San Antonio, has a population of approximately 1,500. The town has only two paid police officers and ten reserve officers.
“It’s a very small town. Everybody knows each other,” Pamerleau said, adding that the impact has been “devastating.”
Elmendorf Mayor Evelyn Lykins said in a news release that Pimentel had served as police chief for more than a year.
“He embraced the community of Elmendorf not only as its head of law enforcement officer but also as a resident. We will miss him,” the mayor said.
Chief Pimentel is the fifth law enforcement officer to die in Texas this year. Three of the five were killed by gunfire. Thirteen officers died in the line of duty last year.
Let us all be in prayer over this tragic situation and be thankful for our law enforcement officers, just think Chief Pimentel was making just a traffic stop. This reminds us that there is no routine traffic stop and crime has no zip code.
