Overnight angel: White Settlement police sergeant wins state valor award

John Banner watches White Settlement while nearly everyone else is sleeping.

The 39-year-old police sergeant, who supervises night patrol officers with the White Settlement Police Department, stays alert to respond to accidents, domestic violence and other issues that pop up in the growing western Tarrant County city.

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52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.

At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.

He was honored at the Texas State Capitol this past summer with a 2026 State of Texas Law Enforcement Achievement Award for Valor from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement for his role in stopping a man who had explosives and weapons in his vehicle, intent on violence toward family members.

Banner, a native of Mineral Wells who graduated with a business degree from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, said he was inspired to become a police officer because he has relatives in law enforcement, including his great-grandfather who was a Texas Ranger.

In November 2024, Banner was about 40 minutes from the end of his shift when he was dispatched to check out a suspicious vehicle. He found the white work van and, inside, an Oklahoma man with a gun on his lap. Banner called for back up.

“We were able to distract him and grab the gun,” Banner said. “He had another large-caliber rifle with a drum magazine next to him that we didn’t initially see. … We got him out of the car and wrestled him into handcuffs. Then we realized he had bomb-making materials and explosives in the back of his van.”

Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives got involved in the case. 

“Through their investigation, we were able to determine he was going to murder his stepmother and father down the road,” Banner said. “He had come from Oklahoma to do so. He was also going to bomb and shoot up a church that hadn’t donated to him.”

Banner said the incident could have turned out badly if other officers hadn’t arrived quickly.

“He would have absolutely had the jump on me if he had wanted to or if I hadn’t been paying attention,” Banner said. “There’s always that thought, that little after-action, when you’re done with an incident, of what you (could) have done better; holy s—, that could have gone way worse.”

Banner has been cited for other exemplary actions while on patrol, including his response to violent crimes such as a 2016 stabbing featured on “America’s Most Wanted” and the 2019 shooting that killed two people at West Freeway Church of Christ. In that incident, the 43-year-old gunman, Keith Thomas Kinnunen, was killed by a security team volunteer at the church.

In April, Banner received national attention for rescuing a mother and three young children from rising floodwaters — an incident he saw unfolding on Western Hills Boulevard while he was parked at a church about a half-mile away. He rushed over to help the children, who got out of the car. First responders later used jumper cables to guide the woman out of the rushing waters.

“For whatever reason, there’s been a lot of incidents I’ve been involved with,” Banner said.

Banner started with White Settlement police 14 years ago. In addition to having officers in his family, Banner says he watched a lot of police-related shows like “Cops.”

“It just attracted me to it,” he said.

Banner said he likes working 12-hour overnight shifts over half a week and has even turned down a promotion to lieutenant. He trains young officers.

“The calls are always rolling in,” he said. “Every day is a plethora of new experiences that they (young officers) are sticking in their wallet and applying the next day. It’s head on a swivel. … You’re compounding what you learned at the (police) academy.”

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His patrol area is 5 ½ square miles that includes Loop 820, Interstate 30 and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth. 

“We are busy, every bit of it,” he said.

Banner’s valor award led to his inclusion in 52 Faces of Community, Fort Worth Report’s weekly series highlighting community work in Tarrant County.

“These honorees represent the very best of our profession, demonstrating courage, leadership, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to serving their communities,” officials with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas said in a statement when officers were honored with the state law enforcement awards.

White Settlement Mayor Faron Young said city leaders are impressed with Banner’s work protecting the city.

“We here in White Settlement are extremely proud of Sgt. Banner as we are of all of our first responders,” Young said. “Sgt. Banner has represented himself and the city with great professionalism. He has shown great ability to be at the right place at the right time and our community is thankful for him.”

Banner said it’s important for law enforcement officers to be adaptable in police situations.

“It’s about keeping your wits about you. … That’s something that comes with time,” he said. “Keeping an open mind to a dynamic situation and changing with it. Don’t be paranoid, but be prepared.”

Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected].

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