Gulfport Police Department Memorial Ceremony

The Gulfport Police Department is remembering not just co-workers but family, friends and heroes.
The entire lobby was packed for the memorial ceremony at the Gulfport Police Department. The memorial was focused on honoring members of law enforcement who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
The ceremony included a presentation of colors, special remarks from Mayor Billy Hewes and a beautiful choir performance from Gulfport High.
Gulfport Deputy Chief of Police Chris Loposser tells News 25 there is a lot of sacrifice that goes into being an officer that sometimes is taken for granted. “They have to prepare their families for the fact that they may or may not come home at the end of each shift. They have to prepare their wives and their children when they’re out in public, ‘hey, if something happens, you guys got to do this because I have to act.’ These are sometimes things that people don’t think about that a police officer lives life in a fishbowl. They’re under public scrutiny day in and day out whether they’re on duty or off duty.”
Eight fallen Gulfport police officers were being remembered today from Walter E. Richardson, who died in 1900, to Robert J. Curry, who was killed while on duty in a motorcycle accident eight years ago.