Detective’s legacy as hero celebrated
Sabrina Washington went through police training with Kevin Collins and was hired with him at the Pine Bluff Police Department the same day in June 2015, more than five years before Collins was shot to death in a shootout while working an investigation at the Econo Lodge motel.
“Kevin Collins was such a worker and a servant even before we started working together,” Washington said, pointing out a time when Collins talked the trainees into working a weekend shift.
“We’re free this weekend. We don’t have a leader. We don’t have class. We’d be willing to work homecoming weekend,” Washington recalled Collins telling then-Chief Ivan Whitfield. “When I heard the news that we had to work, I was so upset, I said, ‘Why would you do that to us?’ He says, ‘We’ve got to get out there. People need to know us.’ I said, ‘They don’t need to know us. We’re rookies!’”
Wearing a black stripe over her badge that reads “Collins #520,” Washington is known by her fellow officers as Sgt. Washington, and Collins — who made it to detective — is remembered as a Pine Bluff hero.
Wednesday’s remembrance ceremony at the Civic Center marked the second anniversary of Collins’ death. He was 35.
KeShone Smith, now 21, is charged with capital murder, first-degree battery of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty, and two other counts of first-degree battery. His trial has been rescheduled for April 17-28, 2023 in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
A wreath was laid in Collins’ honor at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery at 12:05 p.m., the time on Oct. 5, 2020, when Collins was slain.
“Let us all remember Kevin’s
legacy. The man who took his life probably believes that his actions that day, two years ago, is the legacy. It is not,” Pine Bluff Police Chief Denise Richardson said. “Your legacy cannot be given to you by someone else. It is not directed by other people. A legacy has to be built by you, and it has to be ordained by God. Kevin’s dedication to service, his laugh, his impact on everyone who had the blessing to know him is his legacy.”
Washington remembered a man who was punctual — he once arrived 40 minutes early to a physical exam, she said — and was prepared for any assignment. That’s how she wants herself and the police to conduct themselves, as well as to pursue excellence the way Collins did, she added.
In hindsight, Washington shared, she saw truth in Collins’ words about being seen back in 2015. She revealed typing a resignation letter the day Collins was killed, citing that she didn’t want to do the job without her friend, but then feeling something that was hard to explain.
She surmised: “This wasn’t supposed to be done because it’s not about me. It’s about Collins. It’s about the community. It’s about compassion — compassion and love. I just can’t not do it. So,
I just rolled my eyes and I came on to work.”
These days, Sgt. Washington never leaves a briefing without telling her comrades: “I love y’all. Be safe.” She regrets not telling Collins that before his passing.
The remembrance at the Civic Center was held outside the wing of the old Main Library, where a year ago to the day Mayor Shirley Washington announced plans to convert it into the Detective Kevin D. Collins Center, complete with a police training center, office spaces and a new 150-seat city council chamber and conference center. Mayor Washington said the target date for completion is Oct. 5, 2023.
The mayor also said she just learned Tuesday of the entire Civic Center’s place on the National Register of Historic Places, which happened in 2005. She said that allows the city to apply for grants toward renovations, which she said has started with the Collins Center.
A man who, according to his comrades and bosses alike, exemplified a high level of service to Pine Bluff and its police force has earned a permanent tribute in the heart of the city.
“In five short years, he earned a place among the top 3% of high performers in this department and arguably the entire state,” Richardson said. “He did not just want better for us. He wanted us to be the best because he was the best. He wanted us to get along, and he worked to bring us together.”