Updated at 3:59 p.m. with additional testimony.
Emily Sherrard misses being able to text her police officer father throughout the day.
She and her mother both took the witness stand Tuesday to talk about David Sherrard, a Richardson police officer who was killed by 28-year-old Brandon McCall in 2018.
McCall was convicted last week of capital murder in Sherrard's death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for him.
The sentencing phase of the trial began Monday. Witnesses described numerous interactions McCall had with police before the man ambushed officers Feb. 7, 2018, at the Breckinridge Point Apartments after shooting his friend.
Sherrard had two daughters, one of whom testified about her dad.
"He was my best friend," said Emily Sherrard. "These past two years have really been hard not being able to text him, even if I do send a message to his phone knowing he isn't going to see it."
The 15-year-old girl said her dad was her "go-to person for anything."
Nicole and David Sherrard married in 2002, two years before David Sherrard became a police officer.
"I hit the floor screaming," Nicole Sherrard testified about learning from a doctor at the hospital that her husband had been killed.
She then had to tell her daughters what happened.
"Not only did they lose their dad, but I felt like they lost their mom because I'm not the person I used to be," Nicole Sherrard said.
She continues to struggle to adjust to life after the shooting.
"He was my protector and my best friend, and I'm just trying to figure out how to do life without him," she said.
'Big teddy bear'
Richardson Sgt. Brian Ray was the first to render aid to Sherrard after he was ambushed at an apartment complex in 2018.
“I thought I could get past this," Ray testified Tuesday. “It’s two years later and I’m still affected daily.”
Ray teared up while testifying about his friend.
“He has a big heart, a big teddy bear,” Ray said, “He was a friend.”
The police sergeant said he suffers from nightmares since Sherrard's death. He can't look at pictures of his friend and still struggles to connect with his peers.
McCall shot 30-year-old Rene Gamez inside the apartment before barricading himself in a room inside. The man had allowed McCall to stay with him. Gamez died from blood loss just outside the door of his apartment, according to court testimony.
Sherrard was one of the officers who responded to the shooting. McCall shot Sherrard twice at point-blank range with an AR-15 rifle.
'Got real loud'
Leland Miller was visiting at his brother's apartment when he heard a gunshot and a man screaming for help. Miller said it seemed like the man was trying to hold a door shut.
“He was laying there in all that blood," Miller said of Gamez.
Miller called 911. The recording of the call was played in court Tuesday. Miller said he saw Sherrard run past him and into the apartment.
"After he ran in there, it got real loud," Miller testified. "It was crazy."
The officer's shooting was captured on bodycam.
During the trial last week, Collin County Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye told jurors they would see "last seconds" of Sherrard's life.
"You will see him die on videotape. It will be graphic, gruesome and gut-wrenching," Wirskye said.
Richardson police Officer Austin Trice said he was in the ambulance with Sherrard after the shooting.
"There's been a lot of guilt," Trice said of that night. "I feel like I failed."
He said he wanted to testify to speak up for Sherrard.
"That night I didn't get to fight back. This is my way. This is my way for Dave," Trice said.
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