List of North Carolina Officers killed in the line of duty 1892-2003

Mitch Prince

A final farewell
BY LAURA LEWIS, Staff writer Brunswick Beacon

In life, 36-year-old Boiling Spring Lakes police officer James Mitchell "Mitch" Prince was described as devoted, hard-working, generous and a friend to anyone who needed him.
In death, Prince was remembered with full honors as hundreds of uniformed law enforcement officers from throughout the Carolinas attended the slain officer's funeral Thursday afternoon in Shallotte.
"We're gathered today to celebrate the life of James Mitchell Prince," said Sherwood Lancaster, pastor at Highest Praise Worship Center where the policeman also was remembered as a cook, fisherman, repairman, father, husband, son, dedicated church member and hero.
"Mitch was just so much to so many people," Lancaster said.
Lancaster noted it also was a unique gathering this bittersweet day inside the church sanctuary filled with Prince's loved ones, church family and law enforcement officers paying their respects two days after Prince was shot to death with his own gun after stopping a fugitive while on patrol in the early morning hours of Jan. 18.
The Highest Praise Worship Team led the congregation in singing Amazing Grace.
"It was a wonderful privilege knowing Mitch," said the Rev. Daniel Hewett. "Everywhere in Mitch's being there was 'protect and serve' and 'serve and protect.' With everything he did, that's what was inside him. And I believe today if he could tell us anything, he'd tell us to go ahead and get out of here and get to where the food was."
Hewett said what he will remember most about Prince is "if there was a badge, he could wear it, whether it be a police officer's badge, security badge or usher badge here at the church."
He cited scripture from II Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought a good fight, and I have finished the race, and I have made faithful, and now the prize awaits me, the crown of righteousness that the righteous judge will give me on that great day."
Prince, he said, is no longer here.
"He is in the presence of almighty God, and he is receiving his rewards that he deserves," Hewett said, urging the congregation to take every opportunity to "tell people how good they are. That's one of the things that Mitch has taught me."
The Rev. David Helms described Prince as someone he could call a true friend after meeting him six years ago.
"Some of the times I spent with Mitch Prince were some of the best times that I ever had," Helms said.
"We as mortal people can only imagine what heaven is going to be like," Helms added. "Mitch doesn't have to imagine anymore."
Prince, he said, loved his wife Pam "more than anything I can ever imagine" as well as their two children, Stacy and Kyle, wanting most of all to be a good husband and father.
Tribute also was paid to Prince as photographs documenting his life were flashed on screens at the front of the sanctuary, starting with his childhood years growing up on Oak Island with his parents, Larry and Daphine, and older brother Larry Wayne.
There were more pictures of Mitch and Pam Prince's wedding day as well as outings with their children.
Prior to the service, a changing guard of white-gloved sheriff's deputies kept vigil beside Prince's flag-draped coffin.
Lancaster recalled how Prince started an annual fishing and camping trip for the church's boys and also once saved a boy from drowning.
It's a natural reaction to be angry about Prince's killing, Lancaster said, "but we do not allow that anger to turn into sin. We're not going to allow anger to completely rule us, because we're not under the rule of evil of this world."
Prince will be remembered forever, he said, because he was a righteous man.
"No, we cannot afford to lose good men like Mitch Prince," Lancaster said. "But what we can do is remember the legacy that he left behind."
Following the church service, a long line of law enforcement and emergency vehicles, including a couple of fire engines, ceremoniously led the funeral procession up U.S. 17 to the Georgetown-Holden Cemetery in Supply.
There, the uniformed officers lined either side of the procession and saluted as Prince's casket was brought to his burial site on a wagon pulled by two black horses. The procession was led by officers on horseback from the Wilmington and Charleston, S.C., police departments and a bagpipe player.
Lancaster read a verse from I Corinthians "'The trumpet will sound and we shall be changed.' We thank you we can honor such a man of God because he first chose to honor you."
A 10-gun salute was fired, Taps was played on a trumpet, and Wilmington bagpipers played Amazing Grace.
No more words were spoken, but more tears were shed as Brunswick County deputies carried Prince's casket to his final resting place.
Prince's colleagues on the Boiling Spring Lakes police force stood in solemn silence near the gravesite as the flag was removed from his coffin.
Sheriff's deputies gently folded it into a triangle to present to Prince's grieving family, along with a single red rose for his wife, Pam.

more about Mitch Prince

Timothy Shane Miller

Updated: May 17th, 2004 04:00:25 PM
North Carolina Patrolman Killed on First Night with Tabor City Police
............
DAVID KLEPPER
Myrtle Beach Sun News via the Associated Press
TABOR, NC -- A crash during a police chase killed a Tabor City, N.C., police officer early Saturday, just hours after he was sworn in as an officer.
Officer Timothy Shane Miller died at the scene of a wreck on N.C. 940, after the squad car he was in struck another vehicle while on a police chase. Another officer was driving the car and was also injured in the crash, but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Tabor City is about 10 miles north of Loris across the state line.
Miller always dreamed of becoming a police officer, said Tabor City Mayor Marion Baxter. The 27-year-old man had worked as a firefighter and a corrections officer before going to school to become a police officer.
"His father told me that, ever since he was six, he wanted to be a police officer," Baxter said.
The crash occurred about 1 a.m. Saturday as the police car was trying to pass another vehicle and hit a Jeep Cherokee going the other way, N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. D.L. Hewitt said. The five occupants of the Jeep Cherokee were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were unavailable Sunday.
Miller was alive when rescue crews arrived at the scene, Hewitt said, but he died shortly after. "They were trying to get him out, and he was talking when they got to him," Hewitt said.
The other officer injured his shoulder and will undergo surgery today, Baxter said.
Baxter said a visitation service Sunday for Miller's family brought out "more people than I've ever seen in Tabor City."
"It's tragic any time a young man dies, but this seems especially terrible," Baxter said. "He was sworn in Friday afternoon. His family and his girlfriend were there with him. We're just heartbroken."
Funeral Information:
Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at Beaverdam Original Freewill Baptist Church on Beaverdam Road in Chadbourn. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Tabor City.

Published on: 2004-05-18
Police officer memorialized
By Deuce Niven
Correspondent

FAYETTEVILLE NEWSPAPER

TABOR CITY - Hundreds of people, including many lawmen and firefighters, came to Beaverdam Original Freewill Baptist Church on Monday to remember officer Timothy Shane Miller.
Miller, who worked for the Tabor City department, died while he and another police officer pursued a suspect early Saturday. It was Miller's first night on the job.
A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery after the church ceremony.
Miller was remembered Monday as a dedicated public servant who wanted to help people.
"During his tenure in life, he wore four hats and four badges," Miller's uncle David Corbett said during the church service. "He was on the Williams Township Fire Department for nine years. He was a member of the Tabor City Rescue Squad, where he was an EMT. He had served as a North Carolina corrections officer. And he was a law enforcement officer for a day."
Corbett said his nephew dreamed of becoming a trooper for the state Highway Patrol.
"He was a good candidate to wear the badge," Corbett said.
Corbett likened Miller's death to the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces.
"He was a soldier working stateside," Corbett said. "And like a soldier for his country, he gave his all, working to protect his community that he loved. We honor Timothy Shane Miller. My nephew and Columbus County's son."
Tony Miller attended the services with his wife and Timothy Shane's mother, Sue. Tony Miller wore the uniform of the Columbus County Fire & Rescue Honor Guard. His son was preparing to join the unit and was fitted for his uniform last week.
The Rev. Jackie Godwin talked abou Miller's extended family, which included lawmen, rescue workers and firefighters.
"Wherever you are from, the family and friends deeply appreciate you showing your loyalty and respect," Godwin said.
"Shane loved to help people. That was his life; that was ambition."
Even in death, Godwin said, Timothy Shane Miller continues to share and to teach.
"He's teaching us now (about) the frailty of life," he said.
Timothy Shane Miller worked as a firefighter for the town of Brunswick and was active in another three municipalities, including Williams Township.
At the end of the graveside service, Tony Miller asked people to stay for a moment so that he could thank them for their support.
He also said, "If you're out there on that call, and you go to turn on those lights and that siren, just remember."
Crash probe continuesThe investigation into the crash continued Monday, said Sgt. D.L. Hewitt of the Highway Patrol.
Miller was a passenger in a patrol car driven by Sgt. Jason Soles. The lawmen were pursuing a car on N.C. 410 less than 2 miles east of Tabor City, Hewitt said. Soles was trying to pass a slower car when his patrol car struck a Jeep Cherokee head-on, Hewitt said.
Soles, who had surgery for a broken right arm Monday, is listed in good condition.
Five people in the Jeep were hurt. One has been released from Loris Community Hospital, and the others are recovering there and at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Thomas Lewis

 

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 5:57AM EDT
Off-duty deputy dies after road fight

By ANN S. KIM AND ANNE SAKER, Staff Writers
HILLSBOROUGH -- An early-morning fight on the side of the road Saturday left an off-duty sheriff's deputy from Hertford County dead and a Mebane man charged with first-degree murder.
Thomas Carrell Lewis, 24, of Windsor died of multiple stab wounds to the back after the roadside confrontation.
Devin Scott Rigsbee, 19, of 5910 Raineywood Drive, Mebane, is charged with first-degree murder in Lewis' death. Rigsbee's brother and two others are charged with being accessories after the fact, accused of helping him flee the scene and burn the weapon and his bloodied clothes, authorities said.
Orange County District Attorney Carl Fox said that Lewis was with friends in a Toyota 4Runner headed onto Interstate 40 from Airport Road in Chapel Hill about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when they exchanged words with several people in a Honda Civic.
The Toyota got off the highway in Hillsborough, and the Honda followed, Fox said. The cars stopped at the bottom of the exit ramp.
"Individuals began getting out of the cars. There was a fight, several fights," Fox said. "I can't tell you who was fighting whom. What I can tell you is that at some point, the deputy was stabbed."
Lewis died late Saturday morning at UNC Hospitals.
Authorities think five people were in the Toyota, including Lewis and a state wildlife officer. Fox thinks two people remained in the Toyota during the altercation.
Fox said he could not discuss what was said between the two groups. He also said alcohol was a factor, but he would not say who in the two groups had been drinking.
It wasn't immediately clear what Lewis and his friends were doing in the Chapel Hill area, but Fox said he was not performing duties related to his job.
Since September, Lewis had worked as an undercover agent for the Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force, a unit created by law enforcement agencies in Bertie, Gates and Hertford counties.
"He was an excellent narcotics agent with just a tremendous amount of ability and potential," said Frank Timberlake, the task force commander. "He was very diligent in what he did. He was dedicated to helping people. He would put his life in harm's way in a blink of an eye to help someone. He was honest. His integrity was above reproach."
Timberlake said Lewis pushed himself to resolve his cases.
"If it took three hours to get the job done, that made him happy," he said. "If it took 48 hours with no sleep to get the job done, he never complained."
His mother, Alice Lewis, said her son never hung up the phone or left home without telling her he loved her. The last time she saw him was Friday, as he headed out to stay with a friend.
"He said, 'I'm leaving. I love you. I'll see you Sunday,' " she recalled Monday.
She said her son aspired to a career in law enforcement since childhood. He was also a "mama's boy," she said, who would run home for lunch when he could.
He did not have a girlfriend and was living with his parents and brother at the time of his death. That allowed him to do what he loved, which was to work "24-7," his mother said.
"He just loved catching those bad guys, and he just loved his job," his mother said.
Devin Rigsbee; his brother, Phillip Jason Rigsbee, 25, also of 5910 Raineywood Drive, Mebane; Eric Heith Isley, 21, of 4409 Harmony Church Road, Efland; and Joshua Dean Abrams, 23, of 3219 U.S. 70 West, Efland, made their first appearances in Orange County District Court on Monday.
At bail hearings later, prosecutors said that Phillip Rigsbee was driving the Honda when it followed the Toyota off I-40 and that the four were arrested after sheriff's deputies found Abrams' wallet at the scene of the fight in Hillsborough.
Abrams told deputies he helped Devin Rigsbee get home to shower and burn his clothes and the knife, Assistant District Attorney Lynn Kelly said.
Judge Joe Buckner told Devin Rigsbee he could face the death penalty if convicted, but Fox said it was too early to say whether he will pursue a capital case.
Lawyers representing the defendants declined to comment, as did the defendants' friends and family in the courtroom.
Late Monday, Devin Rigsbee remained in the Orange County jail without bail.
Isley, who was released Monday on $26,000 bond, has no adult criminal record in North Carolina. Abrams, whose bail was set at $75,000, has convictions of misdemeanor marijuana possession and larceny and felony breaking and entering. Phillip Rigsbee, also under $75,000 bail, has a record consisting largely of traffic offenses such as driving with a revoked license.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for May 27.
Lewis' funeral is scheduled today at 2 p.m. at Greens Cross Baptist Church in Windsor.

Jeff Hewitt

 

Decorated officer Hewitt remembered with fondness
By Clarke Morrison, Staff WriterApril 5, 2004 11:17 p.m.
ASHEVILLE - Friends and colleagues mourning the death of Buncombe County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Jeff Hewitt described him as a dedicated professional who loved law enforcement and a good joke.
Flags were flying at half-staff Monday at the Sheriff's Department just hours after Hewitt was gunned down while trying to serve involuntary commitment papers at a residence off Mills Gap Road.
Fellow officers are taking the death of the 11-year veteran hard.
"I've been going over this a thousand times in my head, and you're never prepared for something like this," said Sgt. Michael Murphy, a good friend of Hewitt. "It's a shock to everybody."
Marcia Bies served with Hewitt for eight years before she left the department in September. The patrol supervisor always put the needs and safety of his officers first, she said.
"I know he's gone, but it's just hard to accept," Bies said. "In your mind you can still see him smiling and joking. He was a big jokester. It's hard to think you'll never see that again."

Hewitt, 34, received many awards during his career with the department, including being named Officer of the Year in 2002. He was a member of the Special Response Team.
He leaves behind a wife of three years, Tracy, his parents and other family members.
Hewitt grew up Tullahoma, Tenn., where he was a star defensive end on his high school football team before graduating in 1988.
Boyhood friend Robert Weaver, now an officer with the Tullahoma Police Department, played football with Hewitt since the seventh grade.
"We used to hunt and fish all the time," Weaver said. "He was fun to be around. We joked and cut up a lot.
"He was proud to be a police officer. He was dedicated to his job."
Immediately after graduation, Hewitt enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving six years as a military police officer, including a stint aboard an aircraft carrier stationed in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War. His first job out of the service was with the Sheriff's Department.
"He went straight from one uniform to another," said his former wife, Shirley Hewitt. "Jeff was a wonderful man. He was a very hard worker and he loved law enforcement. He loved that job and serving people."
District Attorney Ron Moore, who knew Hewitt from court cases the officer was involved in, described him as professional and dedicated.
"As with all law enforcement officers, any time of the day or night they don't know what they're going to find out on the street," Moore said. "It's a dangerous job, and we don't give our law enforcement officers enough respect."
Lt. Sarah Benson of the Asheville Police Department said officers in her agency also are feeling the loss.
"It's a hard day for us today," she said Monday. "As far as APD and Buncombe County, this is the first (on-duty death) in quite a few years. The color of the uniform doesn't matter. It's still a brother."
Bies, whose husband also is an officer of the law, said she feels for Hewitt's family.
"For anybody who has a spouse who works in law enforcement, you always have that fear in the back of your mind that you are going to get that knock at the door or that phone call that your spouse has been taken," she said.
Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials may be made to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department.

Staff writer Tonya Maxwell contributed to this report.
Contact Morrison at 232-5949 or CMorrison@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.

Buncombe deputy shot and killed
By FROM STAFF REPORTS

April 4, 2004 11:09 p.m.Clarke Morrison and Amy Miller STAFF WRITERS
ASHEVILLE - Investigators believe that a man who gunned down a Buncombe County sheriff's deputy Sunday night later committed suicide in a neighbor's yard.
The body of Eddie Cassada was found about 1:30 a.m. Monday not far from this home on Fairhaven Court near Mills Gap Road, Sheriff Bobby Medford said at a press conference this morning.
Cassada killed Sgt. Jeff Hewitt, 33, with a blast from a sawed-off shotgun as Hewitt and two other officers approached the residence to serve involuntary commitment papers, Medford said. Cassada's wife told authorities he was unstable.
"Sgt. Hewitt was a fine kid, a good man," the sheriff said, adding that his fellow officers were taking his death hard. "These guys not only work together, they are like family."
Medford said officers believed Cassada, 56, was armed with the shotgun and two handguns before they arrived. The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct a probe of the shooting, he said.
Hewitt was an 11-year veteran of the department who had served with the U.S. Marines in the Gulf War, Medford said.
Neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots around 10:30 p.m. Dozens of officers then converged on the scene.
The other officers who were with Hewitt were not injured.
Medford gave two emotional briefings on the shooting about 3:30 and 8:30 a.m. today, calling Hewitt "an outstanding young man."
With his hands shaking, Medford said Hewitt had a wife but did not know if he had children. Hewitt was a veteran who served in the Gulf War, Medford said.
Residents in the area of the shooting reported hearing multiple gunshots.
"We heard police shots and realized it was coming from our next door neighbor's house," said Jennifer Youtz. "They were firing shots. I'm kind of scared because I still haven't heard anything," she said about 1 a.m.
"We called the sheriff and they said stay inside and keep doors locked," Youtz said.
Jeff Watson, who lives on Concord Road, said he heard several rounds of gunshots about 10:30 p.m., and several police cars drove up his road about 10 minutes later.
"We were just sitting here, watching a little TV," Watson said. "There's no doubt in my mind that it was a gun."
Youtz and other neighbors said Cassada usually kept to himself. Youtz said she had visited Cassada's house once.
"His dogs killed our cat and that's how we met him," she said. "He told us that he answered the door with a shotgun in his hand. He was kind of a scary guy."
Contact Morrison at 232-5849 or Cmorrison@CITIZEN-TIMES.com

MARK REID TUCKER

MARK TUCKER PAGE

Wake Deputy Found Dead Beside Unmarked Patrol Car, Victim Of Apparent Shooting
UPDATED: 10:43 a.m. EST February 13, 2004
Story by wral
APEX, N.C. -- A state-wide manhunt continues for the person who killed a Wake County sheriff's deputy. Mark Tucker was president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Wake County.
Someone shot deputy Mark Tucker, 49, Thursday afternoon. A 28-year veteran of law enforcement, Tucker was on duty at the time.
Tucker's body was found beside his unmarked patrol car in a field near Holly Springs Road and Winding Oak Way, just before 1:30 p.m. The deputy's gun was still in its holster.
The land where the car and body were discovered is the future site of the Southeast Wake YMCA, located across the street from Tucker's Oak Chase neighborhood.
Sheriff Donnie Harrison said his office is treating the death as a homicide. More on Mark Tucker's Page

MARK REID TUCKER, 49, of Apex, died February 12, 2004. He was currently employed by the Wake County Sheriff's Office as a Deputy Sheriff/Investigator. From September 1999-March 2002 he was the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina appointed by President Clinton to serve and protect. He was the President of the Wake County Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #41 from 1988-present.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia H. Tucker of Apex, NC; two sons, Chad and Matthew Tucker of the home; parents, Dallas and Virginia Tucker of Cary; one sister, Robbie Angell of Asheville, NC; three brothers, Tom Tucker of Raleigh, NC, Buddy Tucker and Dan Tucker both of Cary.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, February 15, from 2:00-6:00 p.m. at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 SE Maynard Rd., Cary, NC.
Funeral services will be held Monday, February 16, at 3:00 p.m. at Mid-Way Baptist Church, 6910 Fayetteville Rd., Pastor Mitch Mitchell will be officiating. Burial will follow at Montlawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Fraternal Order of Police, P.O. Box 7248, Durham, NC 27722-2484.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.MeM.com