WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three fallen Mississippi law enforcement officers are among the 363 names added this year to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The recognition comes during National Police Week, when families, law enforcement agencies and survivor-support groups gather in Washington to honor officers who died in the line of duty. This year’s Roll Call of Heroes includes Jackson County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Aaron Brashears, Hinds County Deputy Sgt. Martin Shields Jr. and Jackson Police Sgt. Bryan A. Pippin, connecting the national memorial to recent losses in Mississippi law enforcement communities.

The names were scheduled to be read aloud during the 38th annual Candlelight Vigil on May 13 on the National Mall. The memorial now includes 24,775 officers who died in the line of duty. The 363 names added this year include 109 officers who died in 2025 and 254 officers who died in previous years.

Brashears died Oct. 17, 2025, after his patrol vehicle collided with horses on Highway 15 in Stone County. Shields was shot and killed Feb. 23, 2025, while responding to a domestic call in Terry. Pippin died in September 2021 after contracting COVID-19 while on duty.

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Sgt. Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe were conducting a welfare check on a woman and child sitting outside a motel early in the morning in Bay St. Louis. After the officers called child protective services, the woman opened fire and fatally wounded them both. Robin is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. Estorffe is survived by his mother, father, siblings and grandparents. (Officer Down Memorial Page)

Families find support in D.C.

Former Bay St. Louis Police Chief Toby Schwartz attended this year’s National Police Week events and said the memorial can help grieving families feel less alone.

“It’s pretty amazing, pretty powerful. You’ll have anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 people out on the U.S. Capitol lawn,” Schwartz said. “Sometimes (survivors) feel like they’re the only ones who are experiencing loss. When they come up here, they realize they’re part of a bigger family.”

Schwartz attended the memorial for years as an agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. He later became a survivor himself as Bay St. Louis police chief after Sgt. Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe were shot and killed while responding to a welfare check.

“They were killed in the line of duty by felonious assault, by handgun, on Dec. 14, 2022, while answering a call,” Schwartz said. “They were honored here in 2023, and so I’ve returned every year since 2023 to honor them.”

Schwartz serves as a board member for the Mississippi chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors, a nonprofit that supports surviving families and co-workers of law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty.

The organization helps survivors attend National Police Week events in Washington and provides financial, peer-support and training resources.

In February, the Mississippi chapter hosted a three-day trauma training in Biloxi for law enforcement officers, families and support workers. The training covered stress management, benefits, response after a line-of-duty death and warning signs of police suicide.

Mississippi in context

Jackson County Deputy Sheriff Michael Leroy Jimerson was shot while responding to a disturbance call April 1. Lee County Deputy Sheriff Richard A. Haggard, a school resource officer at Shannon Elementary School, died Feb. 2 after being hit while directing traffic.

Records from the Officer Down Memorial Page show 345 Mississippi officers have died in the line of duty. Of those deaths, 220, or about 64%, were from gunfire. Mississippi ranks 26th among states and territories for total line-of-duty deaths, while its share of deaths by gunfire is higher than the national share of about 51%.

Schwartz said the annual memorial is about keeping the names and sacrifices of fallen officers alive.

“Remember their ultimate sacrifice so that they’re never forgotten,” Schwartz said.