On a September day in 1982, a tense situation unfolded that would end in tragedy. Derald Coghlan had abducted a woman and her three children in Franklin County, Mississippi, and fled into neighboring Lincoln County. Law enforcement officers from the Mississippi Highway Patrol quickly set up roadblocks to intercept the fugitive and rescue the hostages. The vehicle carrying Coghlan and his captives was stopped at a roadblock on Jackson Liberty Drive at Bogue Chitto Road.
Franklin County Sheriff James Posey, a 37-year-old male, was called to the scene. Knowing the volatility of the situation and the danger faced by the woman and her children, Sheriff Posey made a courageous and selfless decision. He offered to exchange himself for the hostages. Coghlan agreed to the exchange, and the woman and her three children were freed. Sheriff Posey then got into the police car with Coghlan.
Moments after the exchange, as the two sat in the police car, the situation took a fatal turn. Derald Coghlan fired a. 38 caliber handgun, shooting Sheriff Posey in the chest. As Sheriff Posey fell from the vehicle, other deputies at the scene immediately returned fire. In the ensuing shootout, Coghlan was shot and killed by the officers. Sheriff Posey, who was serving his second term as sheriff, succumbed to his injuries at the scene. He was survived by his wife and two teenage children.
