An Austin police officer who helped stop Charles Whitman's 1966 sniper rampage from atop the University of Texas clock tower has been laid to rest.
   Funeral for Houston McCoy was held Thursday afternoon in the rural West Texas town of Menard, followed by a graveside service with police honors.
   McCoy died at age 72 on Dec. 27.
   He fired two blasts from his shotgun to bring down Whitman, who killed 16 people on Aug. 1, 1966. Whitman wounded dozens of others before McCoy and fellow officer Ramiro Martinez made their way to the tower's observation deck. Martinez also fired on Whitman.
   Whitman was a Texas student and former Marine when he opened fire on the campus.