Law enforcement memorials planned for next week
May 12—TUPELO — Ceremonies celebrating the work and sacrifices of the men and women of Northeast Mississippi's law enforcement agencies have been set for next week in Tupelo and Booneville.
The ceremonies are being held in conjunction with National Law Enforcement Memorial Week.
In Tupelo, Wives of Warriors and the Mississippi chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors will host the annual Northeast Mississippi Law Enforcement Memorial Service on Monday, May 16, at 6 p.m. outside the theater at the Elvis Presley Birthplace.
The memorial service was started 20 years ago by John Harmon after his son, Casey Harmon, was shot and killed while working as a jailer at the Lee County Juvenile Detention Center in March 1998.
Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka will be the speaker at the event, which will include the playing of Taps, a 21-gun salute and the reading of the names of the area's officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
The next day, on May 19, the Prentiss County Sheriff's Office will honor fallen officers — in particular, deputy Michael Hisaw — at 6 p.m. at the Prentiss County Justice Court building.
Hisaw was shot and killed on March 11, 1999, while responding to a disturbance call near Jumpertown. The shooter killed himself before he could be captured.
According to Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar, this year's ceremony represents a change in tradition. Typically, they celebrate the fallen officer in March, but instead elected to host Hisaw's sacrifice during National Law Enforcement Memorial Week.
"We usually plant a magnolia on the anniversary of Michael's death, but this year we are going to do it on May 19," he said.
Circuit Court Judge Michael "Chip" Mills will be the speaker.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy established May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The week around that day is National Police Week. The Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police will host their annual fallen officer candlelight vigil at the State Capitol Mall in downtown Jackson on May 17 at 6:30 p.m. The national candlelight vigil will be held on May 13 at 8 p.m. on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
