Three charged after two officers shot during Mississippi traffic stop

HATTIESBURG, Miss . — Three suspects were in custody after two Mississippi police officers were shot to death during a Saturday evening traffic stop that turned violent, a state law-enforcement spokesman said Sunday.

The deaths of the officers — the first to hit the small southern Mississippi city in three decades — were felt far and wide. Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement he was “mourning” the loss.

Marvin Banks, 29, and Joanie Calloway, 22, were each charged with two counts of capital murder. Banks was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in the police cruiser after the shooting. He ditched the vehicle a few blocks away.

Banks’ brother, Curtis Banks, 26, was charged with two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder.

The three Hattiesburg residents were arrested without incident at different locations overnight following the shooting. They were expected to appear in court Monday.

The police officers, who died of their wounds at a hospital, were identified as Benjamin Deen, 34, and Liquori Tate, 25.

Local reports said Deen was a past department “Officer of the Year,” and Tate was a newcomer who graduated from the law-enforcement academy in 2014.

Tate decided to become a police officer so he could make a difference in the black community, said Jarvis Thompson, who knew him from childhood.

“He wanted to become an officer because we’ve seen so much of our peers get killed or end up in jail,” said Thompson. “He was talking all the time about how he wanted to do better and make the place better.”

The preliminary investigation indicated Deen had pulled the vehicle over on suspicion of speeding and then called for backup, which is when Tate arrived.