Texas DPS remembers 3 men who died in line of duty

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) remembered three men Tuesday who died while in the line of duty.

The law enforcement agency held its 2022 Peace Officers Memorial Service at the DPS headquarters in Austin to honor Texas Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Mooney, Special Agent Dustin Slovacek and Special Agent Anthony Carlos "AC" Salas.

According to DPS, Mooney served as a trooper in El Paso County and died in June last year after battling cancer and being hospitalized from COVID-19. The 52 year old previously served in the Army before becoming a state trooper.

Slovacek died in September 2021 from complications caused by COVID-19, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page honoring him. The page states his infection happened while deployed to the Texas-Mexico border for Operation Lone Star, the border initiative created by Gov. Greg Abbott. He served as a Marine before working with the DPS criminal investigations division for 14 years.

An accident near Eagle Pass killed Salas in January this year, which happened while he assisted with a joint operation for Operation Lone Star. He joined DPS in 2013 and was stationed in El Paso. He served as a trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol before a promotion to special agent in the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

"We remember these men for their service and their sacrifice and all they've done for this country and the state of Texas," Steven Mach, the DPS public safety commission chairman, said Tuesday.