Highway section to be renamed for murdered Mississippi police officers

Published 1:41 pm Sunday, May 2, 2021

A portion of U.S. Highway 51 in Mississippi’s Lincoln County is being dedicated to two police officers who were killed in the line of duty in 2018.

The City of Brookhaven will honor Cpl. Zach Moak and Officer James White in a ceremony Monday. A portion of the highway, beginning at its intersection at Natchez Avenue and extending north to its intersection with Brookway Boulevard, will be renamed as “Corporal Zach Moak and Officer James White Memorial Highway,” WJTV reported.

House Bill 1279 was signed into law in the 2020 legislative session.

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White, 35, and Moak, 31, were killed in a Sept. 29, 2018, shooting. The two officers were responding to a shots-fired call when a suspect engaged them in a shootout, authorities said. White was killed first, and as Moak attempted to help him and apprehend the suspect, he was shot as well.

Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, Republican state Rep. Becky Currie, Brookhaven Mayor Joe Cox and others will be in attendance for the planned recognition. The dedication ceremony will be held at the Lampton Auditorium in Brookhaven at 10 a.m.