TUPELO — There was a massive showing of support Friday for the family of deceased Tupelo Police Sgt. Kevin “Gale” Stauffer, who was shot and killed by a fleeing suspect when responding to a bank robbery on Monday.
Crowds lined the streets from First United Methodist Church to the Tupelo Memorial Park Cemetery.
The funeral procession left the church, where services for the 38-year-old officer were held, and was greeted by residents holding black and blue and American flags. The Daily Journal reports Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson estimated more than 1,000 people on the streets as the procession drove past.
Law enforcement from as far away as Florence, Ala., Jackson and Memphis, as well as local law enforcement, filled the processional, guiding Stauffer’s family and friends to the internment.
The route passed Stauffer’s Woodlawn Street home where officers were standing at parade rest in watch over his family’s home. Officers have stood guard over the home since Sauffer’s passing.
Meanwhile, Police Officer Joseph Maher is out of the Intensive Care Unit and in a private room at the North Mississippi Medical Center.
Police Chief Bart Aguirre said Maher’s wife reported he has greatly improved over the last two days and was able to walk with assistance.
Maher was shot during the same incident that claimed Stauffer’s life.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, FBI and other law enforcement agencies are continuing to investigate the bank robbery and subsequent shooting.
When asked about a possible suspect in Chicago, Highway Patrol Trooper Ray Hall told The Daily Journal he couldn’t release any information and no formal charges have been filed. Still, he said, investigators are following some good leads.
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