On the last day of 1984, Sergeant Jacquelyn 'Jackie' Kay Sherrill, a dedicated officer with the Hattiesburg Police Department, was tragically killed in the line of duty. A California native born in 1951, Sherrill had moved to Hattiesburg at a young age and broke barriers by becoming the city's first female police officer in 1974. Her career was marked by further achievements, including her promotion to sergeant and detective in 1983, another first for a woman in her department.
On that fateful New Year's Eve, the 33-year-old female sergeant was part of a team of four officers attempting to serve an arrest warrant on 48-year-old Noah Wheeler at a residence on East Side Avenue. The warrant was for incest involving a juvenile. While three uniformed officers approached the front of the house, Sergeant Sherrill, who was in plain clothes, went to the back. The situation escalated when Wheeler became agitated and attacked the officers at the front door.
In the ensuing struggle, Wheeler managed to gain control of one of the officer's service revolvers and began firing. Hearing the gunshots, Sergeant Sherrill rushed from the back of the house to the front to assist her fellow officers. As she arrived on the porch, Wheeler fired another shot, striking her in the chest. She was rushed to Forrest General Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Sergeant Sherrill was the first female law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in the state of Mississippi.
Noah Wheeler was arrested and subsequently charged with capital murder. In May 1986, he was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned the death sentence in July 1989. The court reasoned that there was reasonable doubt as to whether Wheeler knew Sherrill was a police officer, given that she was not in uniform, although she was reportedly displaying a gun holster and badge on her belt. Following the high court's decision, Wheeler's sentence was reduced to life in prison, and he is now eligible for parole.
