Benefit hosted to help family of fallen officer
Music and chatter from family, friends and colleagues of fallen officer Senior Patrolman Sherman Otto Benys Sr. filled the J K Northway Exposition on Saturday, Feb. 26. Nine volunteer musicians and bands performed a variety of music including country, Tejano and other genres as part of the Kingsville Police Department Former Officers and Employees Association (KPDFOEA) fundraiser to raise money for the Benys family.
“This event is an opportunity for us, as former officers, to be there for the family, especially in their time of need,” KPDFOEA Treasurer Tony Gonzalez said.
“They’re going to still have a lot of expenses, even after Sherman’s death and we just wanted to give them that sense of financial stability.”
Benys was killed in the line of duty on Nov. 4 while responding to a domestic violence call. He passed away three days later in the hospital from the injuries he sustained.
“When officer Benys was killed, our organization was compelled to do something,” KPDFOEA President Joe Muñoz said. “We raised $55,000 when he first passed, but we felt we should do more because that amount nowadays is not enough to continue with funeral preparations.”
Out of the money raised that night, everything will go to Benys’ wife and their three children. Benys had plans to also create a non-profit organization to help police departments around the area and families of fallen officers. The family has taken steps to begin the organization, but the process is ongoing.
“I want to be able to be the support for someone if this event were to happen again,” Vicki Benys said. “[the non-profit] will be used to help with whatever [Kingsville Police Department] needs and to help fill in the gaps that we didn’t get for fallen officers’ families.”
Benys also voiced her thankfulness for support the family has received since her husband’s passing.
“[His death] has been hard, but we just take one day at a time and stay busy,” Benys said. “We have received tremendous support from the community and his brothers and sisters in blue.”
Although this was the first music benefit hosted to raise money for the family, Benys does hope this can become an annual event, especially since the City of Kingsville declared Nov. 4 as Sherman Benys Day.
