1975

January 30, 1975
Gunfire @ 4600 Yale

DOB – 09/10/1947, Age 27
Badge – 1388
Class #55
Final Resting place – Rosewood, Humble TX

Officer John Bamsch made the supreme sacrifice on January 31, 1975, while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect. The following account recalls the tragic event from the actual offense report: The details of this offense were learned from talking to Officer J.D. Ellis and witnesses, who were present when Officer John T. Bamsch was shot while trying to apprehend robbery suspects.

Officer Ellis and Bamsch were riding unit 1161 at approximately 12:45 a.m. on January 30, 1975. Officer Ellis was driving and Officer Bamsch was on the passenger side in the front seat. The officers were traveling south on Yale in the 4600 block. Bamsch told his partner to pull over because it appeared to him that there was something going down. The officers turned into a service station driveway on the southeast corner of Yale and Norview. This service station was located across the street from a 7-11 store.

After the officers pulled into the service station, they saw a car parked alongside of the store on Norview. The car had its headlights on and the motor running because this car was creeping slowly toward Yale Street. About the time the officers saw the car moving forward, they saw a black male come out of the front door of the store. The black male was walking slowly and at the same time, the car was moving slowly towards him and it appeared to the officers that the car and the black male would meet at the corner of Yale and Norview.

Officer Bamsch got out of the patrol car and told his partner that he was going to check on the man that was walking and for Officer Ellis to follow the car. Officer Bamsch took his pistol out of the holster and called the black man to "hold it" and started walking across Norview and Officer Ellis was behind him in the patrol car. Officer heard some shots and looked to his right and saw his partner on the ground. At this time, Officer Ellis turned into the entrance of the 7-11 store parking lot and put a call over the police radio that his partner had been shot and also gave the location. He stopped the car and saw the black male crawling on the ground; he reached and got his shotgun and fired three times. The black male on the ground shouted to Officer Ellis not to shoot anymore because he had thrown his gun across the street. The vehicle which Ellis had been following left the scene, prompting a widespread manhunt for the driver, whose name was obtained from Bamsch's murderer, Richard Kyles.

The Houston police began searching for Robert Thomas, an accomplice in the murder of a police officer. It did not take long as the following supplement indicates: Officers received a tip from the dispatchers' office that Robert Lee Thomas, a suspect wanted in this case, was seen at approximately 7:20 p.m. on January 20, 1975 at the Gulf Station on West Montgomery at West Little York. Upon receiving this information, officers headed west on West Little York. Officers observed the described vehicle, which the dispatcher described as a maroon 1967 Chevelot with rear damage on West Little York, north on DePriest. Officers immediately pulled in behind this vehicle and turned on red lights and siren and followed the vehicle approximately one block, when the vehicle pulled over and stopped. As officers approached the vehicle, officers noticed a NF 35 seated in the driver's seat and NM 35-40 seated in the front passenger side and a NM 30 seated in the left rear passenger seat. Officer Carbo approached the passenger rear seat and demanded identification from him.

Officer Carbo noticed his right hand under a pile of clothing to his right and told him to remove his hand from underneath the clothing. The passenger in the rear seat did so and pulled out his billfold showing Officer Carbo identification belonging to Robert Lee Thomas. At this time, Robert Lee Thomas bolted from the car and ran north in the 7100 block of DePriest. Officer Carbo and Officer Hall gave pursue on foot and together tackled Thomas besides a building in the 7200 block of DePriest. At this time, Thomas struggled with officers. He kicked and swung his arms, and after several minutes, the officers subdued and handcuffed Thomas. Richard D. Kyle and Robert Lee Thomas were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Source – Houston Police Department Museum Files