Two Police Officers Are Shot and Killed in Mississippi

Two police officers were fatally shot during a traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Saturday night, and the authorities said they had arrested three suspects and charged two of them with capital murder.

The officers were shot about 8 p.m., the police said. They were taken to Forrest General Hospital, according to The Clarion-Ledger, a newspaper in Jackson.

The county coroner, Butch Benedict, identified the slain men as Benjamin Deen, 34, a canine officer; and Liquori Tate, 25, a recent graduate of the police academy, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety announced on Sunday that Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, have each been charged with two counts of capital murder, and Mr. Banks’s brother, Curtis Banks, 26, has been charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.

A spokesman for the Hattiesburg Police Department, Lt. Jon Traxler, said that both brothers are residents of Hattiesburg, and that each had been previously arrested on drug and weapons charges.

The suspects are being held in a county jail until a court appearance scheduled for Monday.

The officers’ police car was found abandoned after the shooting, a local television station, WDAM, reported.

The Clarion-Ledger said the shootings marked the first time Hattiesburg police officers had been killed in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

3 arrested after shootings of 2 Mississippi police officers
Sunday May 10th, 2015 at 9:54 AM

In this undated photo released by the Hattiesburg Police Department, Officer Benjamin Deen participates in K-9 training at the police academy in Hattiesburg, Miss. Officer Deen and Officer Liquori Tate were fatally shot during a traffic stop, Saturday evening, May 9, 2015, in the southern Mississippi city of Hattiesburg, prompting a statewide manhunt early Sunday for two suspects, authorities said. (Hattiesburg Police Department via AP) ( /Associated Press)

By Associated Press May 10 at 9:17 AM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Three people were arrested — and two were charged with capital murder — after two Mississippi police officers were shot to death during a traffic stop, a state law enforcement spokesman said Sunday.

The officers’ deaths were the first reported in the southern Mississippi city of Hattiesburg in three decades.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, told The Associated Press that 29-year-old Marvin Banks and 22-year-old Joanie Calloway were each charged with two counts of capital murder.

Banks was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also charged with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting, Strain said.

“He absconded with a Hattiesburg police cruiser. He didn’t get very far, three or four blocks and then he ditched that vehicle,” Strain said.

Banks’ 26-year-old brother, Curtis Banks, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.

Officers arrested the three Hattiesburg residents at different locations overnight following the fatal shooting of the officers Saturday evening, Strain said.

“All three subjects were taken into custody without incident,” Strain said, adding they were expected to face initial court appearances Monday. Because authorities said the three were being held at undisclosed jails in the state, they could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately known if they had acquired lawyers.

Strain said the three suspects were traveling in a Hyundai vehicle when it was stopped and that shots were fired by “one individual” from the vehicle.

He declined Sunday morning to say how many shots were fired or who had fired them. He also said any information about the officers’ actions or what prompted the stop “would be premature to talk about” only hours into the investigation.

The official said Marvin Banks was found at a hotel in the area after Calloway was arrested at a convenience store. He added that Curtis Banks was taken into custody at a Hattiesburg apartment.

“At this point a weapon has not been recovered. However, warrants have been issued to search several properties in the Hattiesburg area. We are hopeful and believe that the murder weapon will be recovered,” Strain added. “At this point, it appears to have been only one weapon.”

Strain said both officers died of their wounds at a hospital.

Lt. Jon Traxler, a Hattiesburg Police Department spokesman, identified the officers who died as 34-year-old Benjamin Deen and 25-year-old Liquori Tate. Local reports identified Deen as a past department “Officer of the Year,” and Tate was a newcomer to the force who Strain said was a 2014 graduate of the law enforcement academy.

“All I know right now is that there was a traffic stop and someone started shooting at them and both of the officers were struck,” Traxler said.

The officers bodies were taken to a medical examiner’s office in Jackson with autopsies pending, Strain said.

After the shooting, law enforcement agents swarmed the area. Many emergency vehicles, their lights flashing, could be seen and police initial asked nearby residents to shelter indoors while they sought suspects.

The state’s chief law enforcement agency, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, has taken up the investigation, according to Strain.

Earlier, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (<a href="http://on.thec-l.com/1GWpqRp" rel="nofollow">http://on.thec-l.com/1GWpqRp</a>) he lamented the deaths.

“The men and women who go out every day to protect us, the men and woman who go out every day to make sure that we’re safe, they were turned on (Saturday) night,” DuPree said outside Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, where the officers were taken.

The newspaper reported these are the first Hattiesburg officers to die in the line of duty in 30 years.

Hattiesburg resident Tamika Mills was quoted by The Clarion-Ledger as saying some bystanders came upon the officers on the ground, and that one of the officers asked “... ‘Am I dying? I know I’m dying. Just hand me my walkie-talkie,’” Mills told the paper.

She added, according to the account, that seeing the officers down was “shocking and heartbreaking.”

___

AP reporter Bill Cormier contributed from Atlanta.

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3 arrested in fatal shooting of 2 Miss. officers
Sunday May 10th, 2015 at 9:49 AM

Tim Doherty and Jason Munz, Hattiesburg (Miss.) American 9:40 a.m. EDT May 10, 2015

Local law enforcement officials investigate the scene of a shooting late Saturday, May 9, 2015, in Hattiesburg. Miss.(Photo: Jason Munz, AP)

Three suspects were arrested Sunday after two police officers were shot and killed during a traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Miss. Two of the suspects were charged with capital murder.

Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict confirmed that both officers had died at Forrest General Hospital. Benedict identified the officers as Benjamin Deen, 34, of the Sumrall area and Liquori Tate, 25, of Hattiesburg.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. said Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, were each charged with two counts of capital murder.

Banks was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was also charged with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting, Strain said.

"He absconded with a Hattiesburg police cruiser. He didn't get very far, three or four blocks and then he ditched that vehicle," Strain said.

Banks' 26-year-old brother, Curtis Banks, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.

"The men and women who go out every day to protect us, the men and women who go out every day to make sure that we're safe, they were turned on (Saturday) night," Mayor Johnny DuPree said during a brief news conference outside the hospital. "But the person or persons who did this are not safe in the City of Hattiesburg (Saturday night)."

Hattiesburg residents Tamika Mills and Pearnell Roberts discovered the two officers who had been shot. The pair got out to check on the officers and called 911.

"Never in my life have I experienced or seen anything like this except on TV and to be in the midst of it, it's shocking and heartbreaking," Mills said. "As we were coming down Fourth Street, we noticed a bunch of lights. As we came on through, (Roberts) told me to turn around because she saw somebody laying on the ground.

"So I backed up. That's when we noticed the officer was down. We just saw that one, but in the course of me being on the phone with 911, I turned and I saw another officer across the street rolling on the ground. (Roberts) ran across the street to check on him. He wasn't all the way alert but he asked her, 'Am I dying? I know I'm dying. Just hand me my walkie-talkie.' "

It marked the first time a Hattiesburg police officer had been killed in the line of duty since Jackie Dole Sherrill was shot on New Year's Eve in 1984.

"Thirty years ago was the last time that this has happened in Hattiesburg, and we've had a lot to happen over the past 15 years with tornadoes and storms," DuPree said. "But you never want this to happen."

Maj. Hardy Sims said two cars had been at the scene, with one unit making the stop and another coming to back the first unit.

At his news conference shortly after 10 p.m., DuPree confirmed that one officer had died and that a second was in serious condition. About 15 minutes later, Benedict confirmed that the second officer had passed away.

"People who believe in prayer, who believe in the power of prayer, I'd ask them to pray for the family members," DuPree said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

At a glance

Hattiesburg police killed in the line of duty

•Officer Jessie James Everett, killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.

•Officer M.W. Vinson Jr., killed by gunfire March 9, 1952, while investigating a burglary at Ace Weathers Motor Co.

•Sgt. David Anthony, killed by gunfire May 23, 1973, while responding to an alarm call at Citizens National Bank on Broadway Drive

•Sgt. Jackie Dole Sherrill, killed by gunfire Dec. 31, 1984, while serving a warrant on Eastside Avenue

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