Deputy Sheriff Mark Louis Stephenson

Been a long time brother. Still think and talk about you often. Came across an old photo of us dove hunting and it really hit me. We had some damn good times amigo. One of the first times I ever strapped on a gun and badge I was with you. You told me “If you ever see me take off my hat get ready to go hands on”. That night we got sent to a domestic and you told the guy he was going to jail…. He said he wasn’t….. you took off your hat and set it on the trunk of your car. Me being super green I remember my heart racing thinking here we go. Well you put your hat back on. You took it on and off several times arguing back and forth with the guy and each time was an instant adrenaline dump for this rookie officer. Finally the guy just turned around and put his hands behind his back and you cuffed him. Looking back I’m guessing the peaceful resolution was most likely due to your size. Just a couple days ago I was talking with Rick and we laughed about the time the guy was hiding under the house and we were trying to coax him out so someone said we were going to turn the dogs loose on him even though we had no dogs back then. In your big deep voice you started barking and I’ll be damned he fell for it and came crawling out from under the house because he was afraid of being bitten. Good times. You have Jay up there with you now so y’all keep an eye out for us down here. With the good Lords blessing we will meet again. Miss you my friend.

Lieutenant (Ret)

December 2, 2023