4 arrested in murders of 2 Mississippi police officers during traffic stop

Mississippi’s governor says his state is in “mourning” Sunday after the shooting deaths of two police officers Saturday night during a traffic stop in Hattiesburg.

Officer Benjamin Deen, 34, had stopped a 2000 Gold Cadillac Escalade in an industrial part of the city at around 8:30 p.m. local time Saturday, said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Officer Liquori Tate, 25, arrived afterward to assist him, shots were fired, and both officers were wounded.



Strain said both officers died of their injuries at a hospital. The officers’ deaths are reportedly the first for the Hattiesburg police force in 30 years.

"This should remind us to thank all law enforcement for their unwavering service to protect and serve.  May God keep them all in the hollow of his hand," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said 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, Strain said.