Former Travis County Deputy Stephen Broderick was arrested today for fatally shooting three people including his wife and 17 year old daughter in northwest Austin yesterday. He was arrested about 15 miles away from the scene in Manor. Authorities say they took him into custody after people living in the small mostly white community called police to report what they described as a suspicious black male. Police followed standard operating procedures by responding in force. After realizing that the suspect was Broderick he was arrested. A pistol was found on his person.
Broderick was awaiting trial at the time of the shooting. Last June he was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor. A 16 year old girl told her mother that Broderick had sexually assaulted her. The victim's mother took her to the hospital, physical trauma was discovered, and Broderick was arrested. Broderick was freed on a $50,000 bond and ordered to wear a GPS monitor, but the judge later ordered that it be removed after 142 days of good behavior. Court records reveal that the then 16 year old girl was Alyssa Broderick, Deputy Broderick's own daughter and one of the three people he killed. Broderick's motive appears to be revenge against his daughter and her mother for telling on him.
The other victim was Willie Simmons III. Simmons was a standout athlete at the same high school that Alyssa Broderick attended. We are not sure as to the exact nature of their relationship. Whatever was going on, it looks like he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Seven years before being charged with sexually assaulting his daughter, Broderick was investigated for wrongfully shooting a 78 year old man, but got away with it by accusing the man of refusing to drop his weapon. The investigation revealed that Broderick had a reputation as a trigger happy cop.
According to public records, Stephen Nicholas Broderick is a 41 year old resident of Elgin, Texas. He is a registered Democrat with no prior convictions.