JACKSONVILLE, Texas (KLTV) – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas named a Jacksonville police offer as the district’s 2026 Hometown Hero Award recipient after she was shot twice in the line of duty in 2025.
U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced Officer Elyse Hand as this year’s awardee due to her “courageous actions” Nov. 2, 2025, when she was shot twice while attempting to arrest a wanted fugitive.
Jacksonville police officer shot in the line of duty awarded Hometown Hero Award by U.S. Attorney’s Office(U.S. Department of Justice)
Hand is currently recovering from her wounds, supported by her husband, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, and their young son, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In honor of Hand, the office held a gift-in-kind charity drive to benefit local child advocacy centers in the U.S. Department of Justice district, including:
- Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County in Tyler
- Harold’s House East Texas Alliance for Children in Lufkin
- Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County in Plano
- Grayson County Children’s Advocacy Center in Sherman
- Texarkana Children’s Advocacy Center in Texarkana
- Garth House in Beaumont
“As the Eastern District of Texas’ Hometown Hero, Officer Hand represents the sacrifices made by law enforcement officers across the nation every day. We salute Officer Hand and her bravery and wish her a speedy recovery,” a spokesperson for the district wrote in a statement.
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