San Antonio dedicates Loop 1604 stretch as the David G. Evans Memorial Highway, honoring an officer shot in 2003 who later died from his injuries.
SAN ANTONIO — A stretch of Loop 1604 will soon carry the name of a San Antonio police officer whose life was defined by survival, service and lasting sacrifice.
San Antonio City Council on Thursday approved dedicating the portion of Loop 1604 between Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 281 as the David G. Evans Memorial Highway, honoring an officer who spent decades protecting the city while living with the aftermath of a shooting that nearly killed him.
“This is a life worth honoring,” District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte said during the meeting. “Officer Evans’ sacrifice will not be forgotten in District 10 and in all of San Antonio.”
Evans, a 37-year law enforcement veteran who spent 30 years with the San Antonio Police Department, was one of four officers shot during a 2003 ambush at a Northeast Side Denny’s restaurant. Authorities said a gunman fired more than 40 rounds in a close-range confrontation before being killed.
During the attack, the suspect tore Evans’ gun from his duty belt and shot him at point-blank range, according to his widow, Elizabeth Valdez Evans.
“This was the bullet that should have killed him,” she said, grabbing the bullet fragment she wears on a necklace. “He did not have his vest on that night and he was shot point blank in his chest.”
The damage from his injuries would follow him for the rest of his life. Doctors initially gave Evans only months to live.
Instead, he defied expectations.
“The doctor had told him he’ll be here two or three months, and 14 days later they had the tubes removed — and about three weeks later, he walked out of the hospital,” Valdez Evans said.
Evans returned to service and continued his career, ultimately giving nearly four decades to law enforcement. Those who knew him described him as resilient — someone who refused to let the trauma define him.
Valdez Evans said her husband chose to speak openly about the shooting, using his experience to connect with others and share his faith.
“He made it a point of letting everyone know what God did that day because he should have died,” she said.
Evans died in February 2022 from complications related to the injuries he sustained in the shooting. At his funeral, he was remembered for overcoming adversity and continuing to serve despite the long-term impact of his injuries.
Valdez Evans said she met Evans at church, and the two were friends at the time of the shooting — which happened on her birthday. They later married in 2011 and were together for more than a decade.
The effort to honor him with a highway designation began years later with a chance encounter.
Valdez Evans said she approached Whyte while he was campaigning at a polling site in 2023 to share her husband’s story. Another campaign volunteer who knew Evans encouraged action.
“He got my information and I thought, ‘OK, this is just another politician’s promise,’” she said. “And he called me a few minutes later and said, ‘Let’s get it going.’”
Whyte said the designation had been in the works for about a year and a half.
Valdez Evans said she specifically asked that the memorial not be placed near the site of the shooting, citing painful memories for the family. Instead, the chosen stretch — between I-10 and U.S. 281 — is near where Evans last served.
“His last substation was at North one off Jones Maltsberger … so my desire to put it there was because this is the area he worked,” she said.
When she learned the proposed location, she said it felt like an answer to prayer.
“It was definitely God saying, ‘I heard your cry … it’s time to give honor where honor is due,’” she said.
Once construction is complete, two signs — one facing east and one facing west — are expected to be installed along that stretch of Loop 1604.
Valdez Evans was unable to attend Thursday’s meeting, but a family member spoke on her behalf.
For her, the designation represents more than her husband’s story.
“The sign is just not his story,” she said. “It’s each and every officer who’s laid down their life for this city … every officer who leaves home and doesn’t know if they’re going to come back.”
She said the tribute will ensure Evans’ legacy lives on for generations — not only for the public, but for their family.
“They’ll be able to see this tribute to their popo that will last a lifetime,” she said.