Deputies, Officer Awarded For Bravery
Deputies Thomas West and Donald Wilson, Water Valley Police Officer Derrick Yancy and dispatcher Latonia Smith were honored during the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department appreciation banquet Saturday night. Sheriff Lance Humphreys (left) and Water Valley Police Chief A.J. Hernandez (right) made the presentations to (from left) West, Smith, Wilson and Yancy. – Photo by Irene Jones
By David Howell
Editor
WATER VALLEY – Over 200 people attended the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department Appreciation Banquet Saturday night as deputies Thomas West and Donald Wilson along with Water Valley Police Officer Derrick Yancy were each awarded the Medal of Valor and presented letters of commendation.
The three law enforcement officers were involved in a shootout during the morning of June 16 after West was ambushed and shot while searching for a four-wheeler in a cotton field off of County Road 100, just outside Water Valley. Wilson and Yancy were nearby and literally ran to help West, who fled into the woods during an incident he would later liken to being hunted like an animal. The three men engaged in a harrowing 16-minute shoot out that ended with the death of Robert J. Berube and Jamie Dougan, both of Missouri.
West, Wilson and Yancy received letters of commendation from Sheriff Lance Humphreys, Senator Thad Cochran and Governor Phil Bryant for their bravery. Latonia Smith, who was the lone dispatcher on duty when the gunfire erupted, was also honored at the banquet, receiving a letter of commendation from Humphreys. The tense scene was relived during Saturday’s banquet when the audio recording of radio traffic from the 16-minute ordeal was played and attendees could hear shots blasting at West when he keyed his radio to talk, the immediate response from Wilson and Yancy after West was ambushed, and the professionalism from Smith as she coordinated the overwhelming response.
West, who miraculously only suffered minor injuries after being shot at point-blank range with a 12-gauge shotgun, also received a Purple Heart during the banquet.
Both Water Valley Police Chief A.J. Hernandez and Humphreys shared their agony when first receiving the call from their dispatchers alerting them that an officer had been shot. They also shared their relief when the incident was over minutes later – citing the professionalism exhibited by all three officers as a key factor in their survival that morning.
