Law enforcement remembers Deputy Rick Haggard
WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – Tragedy struck the law enforcement community this week in Lee County.
Deputy Rick Haggard lost his life to an accident while he was working as a School Resource Officer in Shannon.
This comes four years after another Lee County Deputy was killed in similar circumstances.
“Just a good God-fearing guy that loved his family and he loved law enforcement. He liked being out there trying to protect the community,” said Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott.
That’s how Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott remembers former Deputy Rick Haggard.
On Monday, the Lee County Deputy died following a tragic accident while on duty in Shannon.
Haggard was the School Resource Officer for Shannon Elementary School.
Around 3:00 that afternoon, Haggard was struck by a vehicle while leaving his parked patrol car to direct school traffic.
“His vehicle was positioned completely out of the line of traffic, and his emergency blue lights were activated,” said Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson.
He died later at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
Before working for Lee County, Haggard served with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department for a combined 12 years.
He left Clay County in 2019 as a Shift Lieutenant.
“They moved here to Lee County, invested in our community. The school and the kids loved him. He’s been with our school resource program. This was his first year assigned to it, which is what he wanted to do. That was his passion,” said Johnson.
That passion was also shown while he worked in Clay County.
“He loved to work with the kids… I remember on his days off, he would go to the daycares. He would go out to the schools and just carry his car and stuff out there. And just the excitement of working with kids was always great,” said Scott.
Scott said Haggard always had a smile on his face or a joke to tell.
“Nothing but praise is all I’ve heard about Rick Haggard,” said Scott.
The 52-year-old leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Law enforcement officers remind the public to the slow down and to be mindful of first responders when traveling on the road.
“When something like this happens, it affects our entire community, but we are profoundly grateful for the overwhelming number of calls, messages and expressions of support and to our department during this time,” said Johnson.
Haggard started working for the Lee County Sheriff’s Department in 2019.
Visitation for Deputy Haggard begins at 11:00 a.m. on Friday at West Jackson Street Baptist Church in Tupelo.
More information about services can be found on the Lee County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page.
This case is still under investigation.
