Law Enforcement Remembers Fallen Officers

 

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)-Randall Kelly came out to Memorial Park Cemetery for a specific reason, to pay tribute to his older brother Darrell Cooper, who lost his life in the line of duty, and to place a wreath on his grave.

Each year, our country sets aside a week to salute the men and women in blue.

Members of the local law enforcement agencies, as well as family members and friends, gather to honor fellow officers who died in the law of duty.

“I’m actually the reason he joined the police force, I talked him into joining, we joined at the same time in 1999,” said Kelly,” reserved police officers for the Louisville Police Department.

The two brothers spent a year together for the Louisville Police Department.

“It was interesting going out on calls together, seeing people in the community that we knew, some that we didn’t know, it was interesting,” said Kelly.

But that interesting experience would soon come to an end, on the night of March 12, 2000.

“They had got a call to do an escort for Pizza Hut, and they left the rear of the police station going to do that escort, when a drunk driver ran a red light and impacted the car,” said Kelly.

Kelly said he was supposed to be on call with his brother that night, when he received the tragic news, he was left devastated and blamed himself for it all.

“It did I’ll be honest, it did, because I felt, you know, you’re gonna blame yourself if you’re the person that talked him into doing this, you’re gonna carry that guilt, what If I had not have,” he said.

Kelly said he knows his job as a police officer can be tough.

“You have so many eyes on you, and that makes it tougher, sometimes makes you second guess yourself, but at the end of the day, if you can help provide that positive image that the world needs for law enforcement, it helps makes things a little easier,” he said.

But it’s the support like the one during Sunday’s Peace Officer Memorial Service, that makes him appreciate the brotherhood.

And whenever he puts on his uniform, and heads out on duty, Kelly says he’s always sure to keep his brother In his memory.

“It’s tough but it was an honor to have served with my brother, an it was a privilege,” said Kelly.

 

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