Tragedy adds another name to list of those who made ultimate sacrifice in South MS
Nearly 350 officers have died in the line of duty in Mississippi.
The latest occurred Wednesday night in Jackson County, when Sheriff’s Deputy Michael “Mike” Jimerson and a suspect in a disturbance call died in an exchange of gunfire, Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said.
The shooting happened at the Reserve at Gulf Hills apartment complex on Washington Avenue in St. Martin after deputies responded to report of a disturbance at the apartment complex.
Jimerson died in the line of duty after responding to a noise complaint on Wednesday night.
The shooter, 27-year-old registered nurse, Maley Elizabeth Ross, was armed with a pistol when she ran from deputies. She died after an exchange of gunfire with Jimerson.
He died at 12:09 a.m. Thursday at Ocean Springs Hospital.
Jimerson is now among a growing list of other South Mississippi law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Here’s a look at some of the other Coast law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting South Mississippi:
- Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Brashears, 45, died on Oct. 17, 2025, in a single vehicle crash on Highway 15 in Stone County, just north of Harrison County. He died of injuries he sustained after his patrol car struck two horses on a dark road. He had at the Sheriff’s Department for two years and previously served with law enforcement agencies in Colorado and South Carolina.
- Bay St. Louis Police Sgt. Steven Robin, 34, and Officer Branden Paul Estorffe, 23, were shot and killed in the line of duty on Dec. 14, 2022. A Coast veterinarian shot and killed the two officers, though Estorffe managed to fire one shot that killed the woman before his death.
- Hancock County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Anthony Boutte Sr., was shot and killed on Feb. 1, 2021, by a man threatening suicide in a domestic violence case.
- Biloxi Police Officer Robert McKeithen, 58,was shot and killed outside the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center on May 5, 2019. The suspect, Darian Atkinson, was found incompetent to stand trial and is in the custody of the state mental hospital. Others charged in the case pleaded guilty to accessory charges.
- Wiggins Investigator Brandon Breland, 23, and Officer Odell Fite, 48, were shot and killed in November 2005 by a man who struggled with police before the suspect managed to fatally shoot them with one of the officer’s pistols. The call came in a domestic disturbance after the suspect beat a woman, removed her clothes and attempted to rape her before she escaped through a bathroom window and called for help.
- Long Beach police Det. James Northcutt, 54, and Sgt. Steven Morgan, 44, died May 6, 1998, after responding to a domestic disturbance. The shooter was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle. An off-duty police officer from another department was nearby and shot and killed the suspect.
- George County Sheriff Garry Marshal Welford, 63, died July 21, 2010, during a high speed chase. The sheriff was hit and killed by the suspect’s vehicle. At the time, Welford was in his third term as sheriff.
- George County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Malone, 44, died Jan. 4, 2024, when he was shot and killed during a traffic stop at a store on Highway 98. The suspect was shot and killed after a car chase that ended in Beaumont, Mississippi.
- George County Sheriff John E. Nelson, 45, was shot and killed Dec. 21, 1948, after he responded to a domestic disturbance at a local farmer’s home after a daughter called to say her daughter was being violent and abusive. The suspect shot and killed the sheriff, the man’s daughter, her mother, and her two-year-old daughter. The suspect died in the electric chair after receiving a death sentence in the case.
- Gulfport Police Lt. Robert James Curry, 39, died when a vehicle pulled out in front of his police motorcycle on Aug. 14, 2008.
- Gulfport Police Officer Buford Dedeaux, 34, was shot and killed on June 8, 1979, by a bicyclist he had stopped to question at 25th Avenue and 34th Street. The shooter received a sentence of life without parole.
- Gulfport Police Officer Woodrow Scarborough, 22, died May 5, 1970, after a vehicle pulled in front of him as he was riding his police motorcycle en route to a crash with injuries. He was a decorated Marine in the Vietnam War, having received four Purple Hearts.
- Gulfport Officer Clifton Tillman, 43, died July 3, 1943 after he was shot through the window of his patrol car while responding to a man threatening to kill a person at 25th Avenue and 28th Street.
- Gulfport Officer Jacob Otto Wolff, 58, died Sept. 8, 193 after two me shot at and him and his partner as they responded to a complaint of a stolen vehicle at a tire store on 13th Street. One suspect died of his wounds from the exchange of gunfire
- Gulfport Officer Charles Dickey, 37, died Jan. 21, 1913, while responding to a business burglary in progress at 26th Avenue and 13th Street. The gunman was later executed.
- Gulfport Officer Walter Richardson, 33, died Dec. 19, 1900, when he was shot in the back while responding to a disturbance call involving a pastor and his sons. One of the sons shot him in the back three times; the shooter was hanged from a tree the next day.
- Pascagoula Police Patrolman T. Micheal Byrd, 26, died March 27, 2006, during a vehicle pursuit.
- Pascagoula Police Major Nathaniel Smith Jr., 39, died May 22, 1976, after his vehicle was struck head-on by a drunk driver. The officer was returning from a security detail for the First Lady of France when he was hit and killed.
- Moss Point Officer Larry DeWayne Lee, 42, died Oct. 17, 2002, during a vehicle pursuit.
- Pascagoula Police Patrolman Jeffrey Rugheimer, 24, was struck and killed by a road paving machine while directing traffic on Highway 90 about 100 yards from the Litton Overpass. He died May 30, 1972.
Margaret Baker
Sun Herald