MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hudson, Fillingane, Polk, Burton, Caughman, DeBar, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Jolly, Massey, Stone
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE CONDOLENCES OF THE LEGISLATURE TO THE SURVIVING FAMILY AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF HATTIESBURG POLICE PATROLMAN BENJAMIN J. DEEN.
WHEREAS, Hattiesburg Police Patrolmen Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were lost in the line of duty on May 9, 2015, while making a traffic stop; and
WHEREAS, the younger son of Dan and Mary Ellen Deen, and the youngest of their three children, Patrolman Benjamin Deen absorbed the family trait of immersing himself into whatever happened to engage his involvement. Deen served as a Firefighter in Columbia for two years before becoming an Officer with the Hattiesburg Police Department on May 20, 2009. He was named Hattiesburg Police Department Officer of the Year in 2012. Deen met his future wife, Robin, at school and started dating her in junior high. The couple had been married for 15 years, and he was devoted to his wife and their young children, Melah and Walker; and
WHEREAS, Governor Phil Bryant ordered all Mississippi state flags to be lowered at public buildings in memory of the fallen officers. Many public officials, including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi Legislators and the U.S. Attorney General, mourned this tragedy, which was a shocking assault on law enforcement officers in Hattiesburg and in the State of Mississippi. The death of these law enforcement officers happened while the nation was observing Police Week to honor the more than 20,000 officers who have been killed in the line of duty. A memorial service was held in Hattiesburg on May 11, 2015, where over 1,000 Mississippi citizens paid tribute to his memory; and
WHEREAS, Benjamin Deen will be remembered by the public as a Hattiesburg Police Officer who gave his life in the line of duty, and J.T. Taylor recalls a surrogate brother who enjoyed family more than anything else in his life, which will be the legacy Deen leaves behind, one of devotion to family and duty, to service and friends; and
WHEREAS, the state has lost a young citizen who represented the best in the police and the best in Mississippi. We can never repay our debt to this officer and his family, but we must do what we can, with all that we have, to live our lives in a way that pays tribute to his memory. We should not pause and remember to thank police officers only in the wake of tragedy, we should do it every day:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby extend the condolences of the Legislature to the surviving family and pay tribute to the memory of Hattiesburg Police Patrolman Benjamin J. Deen.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Police Patrolman Benjamin J. Deen, forwarded to the Hattiesburg Police Department, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.