Mississippi city mourns 2 slain police officers

Published 9:27 am Monday, May 11, 2015

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — With lowered flags and prayers, a southern Mississippi city is mourning two police officers, while the four people arrested after their shooting deaths await an initial court appearance today.

Red roses decorated a chain-link fence Sunday near the spot where officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were killed, and worshippers remembered the men in a small brick church just a few dozen yards from the scene.

“It’s sad. It’s just a tragedy,” Dorothy Thompson said outside New Hope Baptist Church after a Mother’s Day service that included prayers for the officers and their families.

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Nearby, bloodstains still marked the asphalt where gunfire erupted Saturday night during what authorities described as a routine traffic stop gone awry.

A memorial event was scheduled for the men at the city convention center this afternoon.