Lafayette County celebrates law enforcement community in annual ceremony

WILLIAM MOORE, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
·2 min read

OXFORD — Members of law enforcement and the community at large gathered on the Lafayette County Courthouse lawn Thursday morning to celebrate and show gratitude for a year that saw neither serious injury nor death for local officers.

“Law enforcement officers run to the danger at great risk. They face dangerous situations every day and it takes a heavy toll on them and their family,” said Circuit Court Judge Gray Tollison, guest speaker at the Peace Officers Memorial, sponsored by the Lafayette County Law Enforcement Officers Association and held as part of celebrations in honor of National Police Week. “The sacrifices they make as they work tirelessly does not go unnoticed — whether it is giving a ride to someone who was snowbound last winter or protecting children during a domestic standoff.”

The judge said the challenges facing law enforcement today differ vastly from when he was growing up 40 years ago. However, he praised the work of the Oxford-Lafayette County-University community in taking the steps to navigate an increasingly complicated world for peace officers.

“From the renovations of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, to the new Oxford Police Department that is being built to the ongoing training for officers, we are preparing for the challenges of the next 40 years," he said.

Following the judge's remarks, representatives from the sheriff’s office, OPD, University of Mississippi Police Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks all reported that in the past 12 months, no officers were killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.

The U.S. Marshals Service paid tribute to the three marshals and a police officer killed in a gun battle last month in East Charlotte, North Carolina, as they attempted to serve a felony warrant.

The brief ceremony concluded with the laying of a wreath at the Public Safety Memorial at the courthouse, followed by the playing of taps and a 21-gun salute by the OPD Honor Guard.

Lafayette County Sheriff Joey East said the memorial was started about 20 years ago to honor and remember officers.

“When we formed the officers association, one of the first things we wanted to do was start a memorial,” East said.

Over the last 20 years, Lafayette County has only had one officer die in the line of duty. In late October 2006, UPD officer Robert Langley attempted to make a traffic stop on West Jackson Avenue. The drunk driver tried to speed away, dragging the 30-year-old officer more than 200 yards. The driver, Daniel Cummings, pleaded guilty to culpable negligence manslaughter and served 14 years of a 20-year sentence before being released early in 2021.