SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department announced Friday morning that the officer who was shot in the head Dec. 8 while chasing two robbery suspects has passed away.
The department posted this statement on their Facebook page around 11 a.m. on Friday about Officer Robert Deckard's passing:
"With great sorrow we have received word from the Deckard family that Bobby passed away this morning. Again, they appreciate all the prayers and support they have received over the past several days.
"As soon as funeral arrangements can be made, we will communicate that information to the Department.
"Thank you for all the support you have shown."
He was pronounced by San Antonio Military Medical Center staff at 9:53 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 20.
SAPD on Wednesday morning posted on its Facebook page that Deckard's vitals were "somewhat unstable." He had been in a medically induced coma while doctors attempted to deal with the bullet that was lodged in his brain.
Both Shawn Ruiz Puente, 30 and Jenevieve Ramos, 28, were arrested in Wilson County following the Dec. 8 chase. Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward says capital murder charges were filed against Puente and Ramos on Friday.
"I'm stunned -- the department is stunned," said San Antonio police Chief William McManus on Friday. "I'm angry. It's just beyond tragic. Everything he did was by the book, and I don't know how he could have done it better. (It was a) one-in-a-million chance that he was hit by that round."
A fund has been established for Deckard with Generations Federal Credit Union under the "Robert Deckard Benefit Fund." Credit card donations can be made by visiting this link.
Funeral arrangements are pending.