First recipient of Dylan Pickle Memorial Scholarship graduates police academy

Funds are provided through Miss M 17 Pageant

MONROE COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – The memory and the legacy of a Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty while manning a safety checkpoint lives on through a scholarship program that sends cadets through the police academy.

Every time Deputy Kasi Gwin gets into her patrol unit she is filling a lifelong dream.

Deputy Gwin is with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and recently graduated from the police academy in Moorehead.

She was the first recipient of the Dylan Pickle Memorial Scholarship Fund which is named in honor of Dylan Pickle who was struck and killed while manning a safety checkpoint in July 2020.

The scholarship paid Deputy Gwin’s way through the entire 11-week police academy.

” Paid for my gear going into the academy, like holsters and belts and things that weren’t provided for me by the academy,’ Deputy Gwin said.

Funds for the scholarship are raised primarily through the Miss M 17 Pageant.

Dylan’s mother, Debi Pearson, came up with the idea of the beauty pageant to help future police officers.

M 17 was Dylan’s badge number with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

“I knew when I received that handwritten note from Kasi, about why she wanted to attend the police academy and do what she is passionate about, I knew she was my first recipient,” Pearson said.

Deputy Gwin has been on the road for about a month now and says she learns something every day.

” I love my job, I love what I do, you’ve got to love it to do it, we don’t get rich out here, we do it because we love it, we don’t do it to put a badge on and smile at the public. We deal with a lot of crazy stuff out here, but that’s what we signed up for. Anybody that does want to do this I encourage it one hundred percent,” Deputy Gwin said.

Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook says Deputy Gwin is doing a great job and would make Dylan proud.

” Things for Kasi really couldn’t be going much better. She excelled at the academy, like we knew she would, went through FTO program, she’s out on the road handling calls, making decisions, so we’re proud of where she’s at right now,” said Sheriff Crook.

The second annual M 17 Pageant is this Saturday in Amory. Funds from that will pay someone’s way through the police academy continuing to honor the memory and legacy of Deputy Dylan Pickle.

The pageant begins at 11 at Amory high school. For more information go to the Facebook page of the Miss M 17 pageant