Video: Columbus Police Officer Dies of Illness

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COLUMBUS, Miss.(WCBI)–The men and women in blue at the Columbus Police Department are in mourning for one of their own. After an extended illness a former police officer who happens to be a military veteran dies Thursday morning at age 61.

When veteran officer Mike Griffin joined the Columbus Police Department in 2009 and quickly rose through the ranks of the department becoming sargent in 2014. Officer Tabertha Hardin remembers patrolling the streets of the friendly City with Griffin when he came on board.

“He is the type of person you could always go to and talk to when you having a problem. And he always, you know just understand. And he’d just give you some encouraging words. Even though he might be going through something himself, but he still would block it out and give you encouraging words,” said Officer Tabertha Hardin/Columbus Police Department.

Fellow Officer Kelvin Lee died last month, Griffin is one of three officers in the department that had been ill and fellow officers have been holding a number of fundraisers to help in benefiting them and their families.

“Benny Bush, officer Benny Bush. So these were officers that had illnesses that got them in the position where they couldn’t work full time for the police department. So we wanted to do something to help them to keep them going,” said Captain Fred Shelton/Interim Police Chief.

Griffin who had left the department in July due to illness was a former officer with the Aberdeen Police Department.

“Mike pretty much worked with Chief Sykes during that time. He worked in the capacity of grant writer. He was Chief Sykes’ right hand man. Along, he did some investigative work here. And he was one of our shift supervisors,” said Chief Henry Randall/Aberdeen Police Department.

“He always did what he was suppose to have been doing. You know, and trying to make sure everybody else was doing what they was doing. And just treat everybody fair,” said Tabertha Hardin.

Griffin a military veteran was a marine.