Martin Shields, Jr., a Hinds County deputy who was slain in the line of duty in late February, will be honored with a permanent memorial.
Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones petitioned the county’s board of supervisors on Monday to approve a measure that would honor Shields’ life and legacy with a memorial built outside the sheriff’s office in downtown Jackson. According to board president Robert Graham, there was a unanimous consensus among his colleagues in supporting the measure.
“I am 100% in favor of doing that,” Graham told the sheriff.
Jones will work alongside the county administrator to iron out the details of the memorial. Nonetheless, local officials fully support the idea.
In addition, plans are underway to submit Shields’ name to be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., which currently honors tens of thousands of officers who passed away while serving and protecting their communities.
Shields, 37, was responding to a domestic services call on Midway Road in Terry on the night of Feb. 23 when Eric Brown, 42, shot and killed the officer. Brown shot two others, confirmed by law enforcement to be his wife and a “female accomplice,” before turning the gun on himself.
He and Shields were both found dead on the scene, while the other shooting victims are expected to recover. In response to the deputy’s death, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves ordered flags to be flown half-staff in Shields’ honor this past Sunday when funeral services took place.
