STAUFFER
By William Moore
Daily Journal
TUPELO – Inclement weather forced the memorial ceremony to honor Tupelo Police Sgt. Gale Stauffer, who was killed in the line of duty last December, to be moved indoors.
The event will now be held at First United Methodist Church in downtown Tupelo.
Stauffer was shot and killed near Crosstown on Dec. 23, 2013, while responding to a bank robbery on South Gloster Street. The shooter was killed Dec. 28 by another police officer while attempting to rob a bank in Phoenix, Arizona.
TPD Officer Joseph Maher was critically injured in the same shooting and continues to recover from a gunshot wound to the head.
The memorial service will begin at 2:45 p.m., the time the bank robbery was reported. The event will end with a moment of silence at 3:17 p.m., the time Stauffer was pronounced dead.
Scheduled to speak are Aguirre, Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson, Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton and Tupelo Police Department chaplain David Hamilton. Following the ceremony, the TPD Honor Guard will remove the wreath and carry it to the TPD central office on Front Street.
Following the memorial service, there will be a reception at the Ice House on South Spring Street where a check will be presented to the Stauffer and Maher Fund.