HATTIESBURG —The Pinebelt Foundation will host the Deen and Tate End of Watch Memorial Ride May 9 at the Hattiesburg Cycles parking lot to honor fallen officers while raising funds for the Benjamin J. Deen and Liquori Tate Scholarship opportunities.  

Hattiesburg police officers Benjamin J. Deen and Liquori Tate were killed in the line of duty in 2015 in a fatal shooting.   

The event will begin with an opening ceremony at 8 a.m. followed by the official ride-off at 10 a.m. and participants will gather before the memorial ride. 

The ride costs will go toward the Benjamin J. Deen and Liquori Tate Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was established to help the families of police officers, firefighters, paramedics or EMTs injured or killed in the line of duty.  

 Michael Dixon, executive director of the Pinebelt Foundation, said the scholarship originated from the community’s heartbroken reaction to the deaths of Deen and Tate. 

“Everybody was trying to find ways to help in one way or another… it was a local church, actually, that kind of hatched the idea, but it quickly became an entire community effort,” Dixon said. 

Participation costs $25 per rider and $10 per passenger. Motorcycles, Jeeps and Broncos are welcome, with attendees encouraged to decorate their vehicles. T-shirts will also be available on the day of the event.  

Preregistration is open to those interested, and more information pertaining to the event can be found at The Pinebelt Foundation.