The Greenwood Fire Department has been going through a “trying time” since the shooting death of Apprentice Firefighter Tyree Jernigan, Chief Marcus Banks says.
Jernigan, 23, a U.S. Army veteran, was shot Sunday night and died from his injuries Monday. A suspect, Eddie L. Brown Jr., 45, of Detroit, has been charged with murder.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Leflore County Civic Center. Burial will follow in the Leflore-Carroll-Montgomery Counties Memorial Gardens with full military honors.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Jernigan’s death is the third homicide in the city this year.
Banks said the department hasn’t experienced a tragedy of this magnitude since the death of retired Fire Chief George McCain in 2003. McCain, the city’s first African-American fire chief, was killed by a drunk driver.
Jernigan joined the department in February and was assigned to Shift C at Fire Station No. 1.
“Everybody who met him just liked him. He was very enthusiastic,” Banks said.
Jernigan showed a willingness to go the extra mile on the Saturday before his death, when he showed up for fitness testing for prospective firefighters.
“Nobody asked him to do it,” Banks said. “He volunteered to show the applicants how to go through the course. That was the military part of him — that initiative.”
Banks said that when he interviewed Jernigan, he could see from his resumé that he had served in the Army. But he said he also saw that Jernigan “carried himself like a military man.”
As Jernigan clung to life in the hospital, members of the department came by to support his wife, Tierney, and others in his family throughout the ordeal, Banks said.
“I didn’t want to leave her side. I don’t want to see her want or need for anything,” the chief said. “That’s my nature, but it’s also my duty as well.”
Banks said Jernigan was living a good life.
“This kid went into Army. He had gone overseas. He was beginning his career as a firefighter,” Banks said. “For him to be murdered in this manner was senseless.”
Jernigan defied the stereotype of a young African-American, the chief said.
“In the media, the social media, a lot is written about on the bad parts of African-American males,” he said. “But here was a young man who was doing everything right. He did everything by the book. He served his country. He came back to serve his community.”
A loving father and husband, Jernigan lived an exemplary life, the chief said.
“He’s doing everything that society says he’s supposed to do. A lot of times, people like that slide under the radar because that’s not newsworthy,” Banks said.
Jernigan loved the fire department and would have had a long career if his life hadn’t been cut short, Banks said.
Banks said city officials including Mayor Carolyn McAdams, Police Chief Ray Moore and the City Council have all been supportive of the department during this period. In addition, Banks said, fire chiefs from across the state have been in contact with him over the past few days.
That outpouring of support “helps me to be strong for the firefighters and for the family,” he said.
A grief counseling session will be held at 5 tonight at Fire Station 4. The primary speaker will be the Rev. Sammie Lee Townes, pastor of Traveler’s Rest Missionary Baptist Church.
At the conclusion of the counseling session, there will be a balloon release and candlelight vigil at Fire Station 1.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
