JACKSON – State officials said a memorial service honoring 32 law enforcement agents killed in the line of duty has been set for Monday, May 10, in Jackson. Jon Kalahar, Public Affairs Director with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said Monday’s program will serve as a tribute to the 28 state troopers and four Bureau of Narcotics agents who made the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of Mississippi.
“This is a way to remember those officers killed…as well as to honor their family,” Kalahar said. “Because truthfully, it’s the family who’s missing their loved ones who sacrificed everything.”
The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m., at the Mississippi Highway Patrol memorial on the campus of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety Headquarters, at 1900 East Woodrow Wilson Drive.
Governor Haley Barbour is slated to be the guest speaker, and the names of all 32 victims will be read aloud. A rose for each heroic victim will be placed at the memorial followed by a 21-gun salute. The governor and First Lady Marsha Barbour will then place a wreath at the memorial site.
Kalahar said 28 troopers have been killed since the inception of the Mississippi Highway Patrol in the 1930s, either by direct gun fire or vehicle or motorcycle accidents. Master Sergeant Steve Hood was the last trooper killed on May 31, 2009 when he lost control of his vehicle chasing a suspect near the Lee Prentiss County line.
“This year’s ceremony falls about three weeks short of Steve’s death,” Kalahar said. “Colonel Michael Berthay, the director of the highway patrol, and Steve went to trooper school together, so Monday’s service is special. It’s special already, but it’s going to be a tearful, but very meaningful day for a lot of people.”
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