DALLAS — It’s a day of mourning and remembrance for Dallas officers who died in the line of duty.
”In life, there is no escaping grief. It comes for us all,” said Mayor Eric Johnson, City of Dallas.
For Noel Penton, grief came on Feb. 13, 2021, when she got a call from her father-in-law.
”He said you need to wake up and get out of bed, something has gone wrong,” said Noel Penton, widow.
As she was driven by officers to Baylor Hospital, she prayed for her husband, Officer Mitchell Penton.
She saw her father-in-law at the hospital first.
"I just got to him and my legs gave out, and I said you just have to tell me he’s OK.”
Dallas police said Officer Penton was hit by a suspected drunk driver.
"The doctors came in and said your husband came in with severe injuries and we have done all we could do, and that’s all I heard and I was just screaming and crying," she said.
Noel was five months pregnant when her husband was killed, and he was the stepfather to her other little boy.
“We just stood next to the bed and cried,” said Noel Penton.
Months later on Father’s Day, Noel’s water broke. Twenty-four hours later, baby Riggs was born.
"I think I was scared to have him and see his dad in him but not get to see his dad, but I honestly say it’s the biggest blessing," she said.
Noel said she and Penton’s love story was a fairy tale from the night they met country and western dancing. She recalled their first meal together at Whatabuger. She asked him to bring extra ketchup. She meant for her French fries. He thought it was for the burger.
“The burger had so much ketchup I couldn’t eat it. So, we joked about it and he gave me a Whatabuger charm for my bracelet."
They were married less than a year later.
"His wedding ring was actually engraved with ‘always come home.’"
So, on this Police Memorial Day, she wants people to remember the sacrifices her husband made, and the 91 other Dallas Police Department officers who never made it home.
Four new names were added this year to DPD's memorial wall of officers who died of COVID: Reserve Officer David Ruiz, Sr. Cpl. Arnulfo Pargas, Ofc. Scott Harn and Ofc. Christopher Gibson.
It was the first in-person ceremony in two years.
"Life is precious and fragile and tomorrow is promised to no one," said Chief Eddie Garcia, Dallas Police Department.