Wednesday at the Trademart Center in Jackson, officials, law enforcement, and hundreds more gathered to show appreciation to the men and women who have sacrificed to keep Mississippi communities safe.
The event began with a luncheon after which Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson gave the opening remarks. Other elected officials also present were Attorney Gen. Jim Hood, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, and U. S. Attorney Mike Hurst as well as the Hinds County supervisors.
“Nationally, one hundred twenty-eight (128) officers, including federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers, were killed in the line of duty in 2017. Two were from Mississippi,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Marshall Fisher. He then recognized the two Mississippi law enforcement officers who lost their lives last year in the line of duty.
From the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff William Durr and in Quitman, Deputy Sheriff James Clark.
Statistics for 2017 show traffic-related incidents were the leading cause of officer deaths
with 47 fatalities. Firearms-related incidents were the second leading cause of
officer deaths with 44 fatalities. Thirty-seven officers died as a result of other
causes this year, 16 of which were job-related illnesses where officers collapsed
or suffered a cardiac event.
Seven officers died as a result of being beaten, five died by drowning, four officers died as a result of an illness contracted during the 9/11-related rescue and recovery efforts, two officers died as a result of a helicopter crash, two officers died in boating incidents, and one officer was stabbed to death. Single-vehicle crashes was the leading circumstance of the traffic-related fatalities The leading circumstances of firearms-related fatalities
were officers responding to domestic disturbances and conducting traffic stops. One-hundred and nineteen fallen officers were male and nine were female. Their average age was 42 years, with 13 years of service. On average, each officer left behind two children.
You can find a complete list of Top Cop’s honored below:
top cop by yallpolitics on Scribd
Sarah Ulmer
