Man sentenced to nearly 60 years for death of Nassau Bay police sergeant

NASSAU BAY, Texas - A man has learned his sentencing for the 2019 death of a Nassau Bay Police sergeant.

Nassau Bay police death: Man sentenced

What we know:

Tavores Henderson has been sentenced to 58 years in prison for the death of Nassau Bay Police Sergeant Kaila Sullivan.

Henderson was found guilty last week of aggravated assault on a public servant. He was on trial for capital murder, but he was found not guilty of that charge.

Nassau Bay police sergeant killed in 2019

The backstory:

Sgt. Kaila Sullivan, a 15-year veteran of the department, was assisting with a traffic stop in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 2000 block of San Sebastian Court in December 2019.

SUGGESTED: Man accused of killing Nassau Bay police sergeant captured

Initially, another Nassau Bay police officer initiated the stop on Henderson for speeding, according to court records. The officer learned Henderson was wanted out of Harris County for assault of a family member and requested back up, which led to Sgt. Sullivan arriving on the scene.

Nassau Bay Police Department Sgt. Kaila Sullivan was killed during a traffic stop on December 10, 2019. (Nassau Bay Police Department)

During the arrest, police claim Henderson broke away from the officer trying to handcuff him, got back into his vehicle, drove away, and at some point struck Sgt. Sullivan with the vehicle. Court records state the vehicle dragged Sullivan's body.

Sgt. Sullivan was rushed to the hospital, where she passed away.

Get news, weather and so much more by downloading the FOX LOCAL app

The suspect’s vehicle was found a short distance from the traffic stop, officials say.

On Dec. 12, 2019, authorities received a tip Henderson would be at a home in the 4200 block of Heritage Trail Drive. Henderson was taken into custody without incident.

While trying to arrest a suspect back in 2019, a struggle ensued, and he managed to get back into his car and drove off, where he hit Sgt. Kaila Sullivan and kept on driving.

Henderson was charged with capital murder of a police officer and his bond was set to $999,999.

Nassau Bay community remembering Sgt. Sullivan

Local perspective:

At the time of the hit-and-run, Sgt. Sullivan was the first Nassau Bay officer ever killed in the line of duty. An officer had never even been injured before.

Sgt. Sullivan’s 16th anniversary with Nassau Bay would have been two days after Christmas that year.

"Well it’s the worst thing to happen in Nassau Bay’s history. We’re a town incorporated 50 years ago next year and even though we’ve had a couple of hurricanes, nothing rises to this. You can rebuild from a hurricane. You can’t replace a life, especially someone as precious as Sgt. Sullivan," former Mayor Denman previously stated.

Nearly three years after she was killed, a memorial monument was established in honor of her memory.