'A gentle soldier': Funeral arrangements set for MPD officer shot inside library

Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
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Officer Geoffrey Redd was shot Feb. 2 responding to a call at the Poplar-White Station Library. He died Feb. 18 at Regional One Hospital. (Photo: Courtesy of the Memphis Police Department)
Officer Geoffrey Redd was shot Feb. 2 responding to a call at the Poplar-White Station Library. He died Feb. 18 at Regional One Hospital. (Photo: Courtesy of the Memphis Police Department)

Funeral arrangements for the officer who was shot and critically injured inside a public library in early February are set to take place in the coming days.

Officer Geoffrey Redd died about two weeks after being shot while responding to a call near the Poplar-White Station Library on Feb. 2. When Redd and his partner arrived, they learned the person they were looking for had gone into the library.

Officials said a confrontation broke out between the man, Torence Jackson, Jr., and another library patron inside the library. When Redd and his partner arrived, Jackson, Jr. is said to have pulled out a gun and shot Redd. Redd's partner shot back, killing Jackson, Jr. in the library."

Redd was taken to the hospital in "extremely critical condition and ultimately died Feb. 18.

A balloon release in Redd's honor will be hosted outside of the library he was shot at noon Sunday, Bishop Brandon Porter of the Church of God In Christ told The Commercial Appeal Thursday.

Visitation will be hosted at Porter's church, at Greater Community Temple at 5151 Winchester Road, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. The visitation will be followed by a sea of blue, where Memphis Police officers will start a ride from Winchester and Mendenhall, Porter said.

Redd's funeral service will take place at the Hope Church, located at 8500 Walnut Grove, Tuesday at 11 a.m.

A patrol car has also been parked out front at the Appling Farms Station, the final place Redd was stationed at during his 15-year career with the Memphis Police Department.

Redd was a Marine prior to his time with the Memphis Police Department and will be interred at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on Forest Hill Irene.

"I consider [Redd] to be a gentle soldier who sacrificed everything for others," Porter said. "His job as a police officer was to de escalate situations, and he was able to bring peace. If you want to be a police officer, you ought to make us feel safe. That's who Geoffrey was — a genuine person of good character."

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Funeral arrangements set for MPD officer shot at library