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Hattiesburg police officers salute fallen officer Benjamin J. Deen after the funeral service at Temple Baptist Church on Thursday.(Photo: Eli Baylis/Hattiesburg American)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. — In his 34 years, Hattiesburg Police Department Patrolman Benjamin J. Deen managed to live a life that meant so much to so many others.
Thursday, his family asked that his life have an even bigger impact with his death.
Deen was the first of the two Hattiesburg police officers who lost their lives Saturday to be laid to rest.
"We want B.J.'s life to mean something," the Rev. Dwayne Higgason of Grace Temple Church said during Deen's service Thursday at Temple Baptist Church.
"We want his sacrifice to matter. We want this evil to be redeemed somehow. We want to grieve in hope."
Deen and Patrolman Liquori Tate, 25, both died from single gunshot wounds inflicted during a traffic stop. They were the first HPD officers killed in the line of duty in more than 30 years.
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"It's the hope of the family that B.J.'s life, and Liquori's life, will count and bring new hope for harmony for all us in Hattiesburg," Higgason said. "I have been so proud of Hattiesburg, this community. We have banded together, stood together, held our hands together, prayed together, saluted together, lined the streets and supported the families.
"So, what will be the long-term effect of this tragedy? This is (Deen's father) Dan Deen's question that he asked me to ask you. What will each of us do to make our lives count as we face this day?"
An estimated 2,500 attended the service, including about 1,400 law enforcement officers, who gathered inside the worship center from not only across the Pine Belt and the state, but from across the country and the border.
Vehicles were spotted representing various departments from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Representatives from federal agencies were on hand, as were officers from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Hattiesburg Police Department patrolmen Benjamin J. Deen, left, and Liquori Tate died Saturday, May 9, 2015, after being shot during a traffic stop.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Courtesy Hattiesburg (Miss.) Police Department)
Hundreds lined the route of the funeral procession along Old Highway 11, U.S. 98, Mississippi 589 and Oloh Road, along the way to Military Baptist Church Cemetery in Sumrall, where Deen was laid to rest.
"We don't have this," said one of the two officers from District 24-Rogers Park in Chicago, who asked that their names not be used. "This many people taking time out of their day, taking off from work. It's amazing."
Deen's life was celebrated, not only as Hattiesburg's 2012 Officer of the Year and a member of HPD's K-9 unit, but even moreso his dedication to wife, Robin, and children, Melah and Walker.
Soft sobs and the catching of breath were audible during a montage of images, capturing Deen with the long hair that longtime friends recalled, with his motorcycle, with an acoustic guitar.
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But the majority of the pictures were of Deen on his wedding day, Deen with his children, Deen in family portraits with parents, Mary Ellen and Dan Deen; brother, Joshua Deen; and sister, Candi Deen Sylvest.
"I could stand up here and tell you about all of B.J.'s accolades," HPD Assistant Chief Frank Misenhelter said. "I could share with you how he saved a family from a burning house. I could tell you about how he received the Officer of the Year Award in 2012. I could tell you how he received not one, but two awards for not missing a single day of work in an entire year. He loved what he did.
"I could go on and on about all of his accomplishments, but the thing that's the most important and the most rewarding for me was that B.J. is a good person. B.J. has a good heart. As I like to say, B.J.'s good people."
Tate's family was in attendance Thursday, and twice the audience rose to thank both families.
A funeral service will be held for Tate at 11 a.m. Saturday at West Point Baptist Church, with interment at Fox Cemetery in Starkville.
"One of the things that the family wanted everyone to know was that he loved Officer Liquori Tate," Higgason said. "They trained together. They worked together. They served together. They sacrificed together, and they went to heaven together.
"These men were not black and white, they were brothers in blue, and the sooner we all realize that we are brothers and sisters in the community, the sooner we will save our own lives and the lives of our children."
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