| James Ragland: Officer's mom clings to memories 01/08/2001 By James Ragland / The Dallas Morning News You want a tough assignment? Go talk to a mother who's just lost a child to violence. It won't take long for her tears to become yours, for her pain to make you ache inside.
There's nothing you can say or do, really, except listen. That's what I did with Jayne Hawkins, whose son was brutally slain.
Officer Aubrey Hawkins, 29, was gunned down as he responded to a Christmas Eve robbery at an Oshman's Super Sports USA in Irving. Seven escaped convicts are suspected.
Officer Hawkins had just finished having dinner with his mother, his wife, Lori, his 9-year-old son, Andrew, and his 92-year-old grandmother, who had flown in from Arkansas for Christmas.
Minutes later, Aubrey Hawkins was dead.
Days later, his mother is holed up in her Turtle Creek apartment clinging to memories of her "Aubrey bear," lashing out at the state prison system that "allowed" the convicts to escape, praising all who have extended a kind word or gesture since her son was killed.
Jayne Hawkins is hurting inside, and it will take her some time to get over this, if that's even possible. She's trying.
Expressions of kindness
"If you could, I want some sort of platform to remind people of how many wonderful people there are in this world," she said, explaining how some mourners had pressed their business cards into her hand after her son was laid to rest.
Then there were the two Irving police officers who went to dinner with her last week "because I didn't want to be alone and I needed to talk." And the folks who placed teddy bears and candles and flowers outside the store where her son was slain. "People do care," she said.
She has one request. She wants people to help her push for changes in the "lax" state prison system. "If people care about my son's life," she said, "my plea is that they help me do something about the penal system. That is my plea...It's the only way that I can honor him and his family and what he stood for."
Aubrey Hawkins died a brave man. Bravery is required of those who put their lives on the line every day to protect the rest of us.
He was almost 6-foot-4 and about 240 pounds with dark hair. He hardly looked like the 3-year-old with a head full of blond hair who posed for a Neiman Marcus catalog in 1974. His mother likes that picture.
In another photo, a young Jayne Hawkins is holding Aubrey in her arms shortly after he was born. She didn't expect to see him buried, and the thought overwhelms her.
Early start in police work
She remembers when Aubrey first became interested in law enforcement. He was about 6. The family was installing a security system in the house, and he was spellbound. "He saw all of the equipment and he became fascinated with it all. He wanted walkie-talkies for Christmas. He learned the Morse code."
Before he became a sensitive man, he was a compassionate boy. He once found several puppies abandoned on a street and made sure they all went to good homes. Another time, he saved a lost black cocker spaniel, getting it back to its owner on Christmas Eve.
"Aubrey loved to help people," his mother said. "He loved his work. I am blessed that my son did what he wanted to do. Every day he went to work, he was happy."
All his mother has left are pictures and mementos. And a grandson who returned to school class last week without a father.
• A memorial fund has been created to help Officer Hawkins' family. Donations may be sent to the Aubrey Hawkins Memorial Fund, Irving City Employees Federal Credit Union, 1408 W. Pioneer Drive, Irving, TX 75061.
James Ragland can be reached at 214-977-8270 or at
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