STARKVILLE – As rain fell and wind blew Saturday, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy held an American flag in one hand and saluted with the other while a 14-minute procession of law enforcement agencies from throughout the South escorted a fallen officer home.
T.J. Picou, a deputy with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, was among hundreds who lined the intersection of Highway 12 and Spring Street to pay respect to Liquori Tate, the 25-year-old Hattiesburg police officer killed in the line of duty last week alongside fellow HPD officer Benjamin Deen.
Tate, who was 25, grew up in Starkville.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” Picou said. “It hits home. It really hits home and there’s not many other words to say about it.”
Picou regularly comes to Starkville to visit his fiancee. He said he felt a desire and obligation to come honor his fellow law enforcement officer and that it felt “awesome” to see the amount of community support, especially given the current national sentiment toward police.
“It’s days like these that remind you that you do need police, you do need firefighters and you do need paramedics,” he said.
Starkville native Mattie Mosley, 50, said she wanted to show support for Tate and his family. She said she grew up with Ronald Tate, Liquori’s father, and that the family has deep roots in Starkville. She was glad the Starkville Police Department helped organize the event.
“It’s a special event,” she said of the procession. “It makes me feel special to be a part of it. I’m glad they brought the community out.”
The procession arrived in Starkville shorty after 5 p.m. Meia Jeffries, who works at the Chick-fil-A at the intersection, said people began arriving an hour earlier.
The procession included officers from departments across the South. Hundreds of squad cars escorted Tate through streets lined with saluting officers, firefighters and service men and women and civilians waving flags and holding hands over their hearts.
Tate was laid to rest in Fox Cemetery on Blackjack Road.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 29 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Hattiesburg police officer Liquori Tate
