Sea of Blue honors a fallen officer
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – With the sun setting Sunday night in south Memphis the sky was lit up blue in honor of fallen Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney.
Hundreds of Officers from all over the mid-south had their cruiser lights on as they drove from the Southland Mall to the Raines Precinct.
Hundreds of locals wanted to be part of the special event, Ben Dickey was one of them who said he wanted to show law enforcement his support.
“I think officers think that the community doesn’t have their back anymore, but I believe we do,” Ben Dickey said.
Garland Watkins was another man who wanted to show his support and he stressed after the week the city had had this was the right thing to do.
“Our city is on fire right now and this is our only line of defense that we have and we as people should be out here supporting our police department,” Watkins said.
Garland stressed if there was one message from the special ceremony, it is that this city is tired.
“The message we send today is that we are tired as a city, the police department and the citizens,” Garland said.
McKinney’s family and other officers were in attendance to pay their respects.
Monday afternoon, Officer Joseph McKinney will be laid to rest with memorial services happening before.
The TBI continues the investigate the friendly fire shooting as well as the shooting that killed an 18-year-old suspect.