http://www.ago.state.ms.us/index.php/press/releases en mshir@ago.state.ms.us Copyright 2013 2013-06-18T18:48:24+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_asks_colleagues_to_issue_subpoenas_in_google_investigation http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_asks_colleagues_to_issue_subpoenas_in_google_investigation#When:18:48:24Z Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood led a session, “Intellectual Property Crimes Online:  Dangerous Access to Prescription Drugs and Pirated Content,” at the National Association of Attorneys General 2013 Summer Meeting.  Attorney General Jim Hood of Mississippi; Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli II of Virginia and Attorney General David Louie of Hawaii have been calling for Google to stop assisting in the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription and intentionally ignoring reports of rogue pirate sites selling stolen music, movies, software and video games.Boston, MA - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood led a session, “Intellectual Property Crimes Online:  Dangerous Access to Prescription Drugs and Pirated Content,” at the National Association of Attorneys General 2013 Summer Meeting.  Attorney General Jim Hood of Mississippi; Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli II of Virginia and Attorney General David Louie of Hawaii have been calling for Google to stop assisting in the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription and intentionally ignoring reports of rogue pirate sites selling stolen music, movies, software and video games. “We in good faith invited Larry Page, Chief Executive Officer of Google, to have an open, honest and transparent conversation about these important issues that are putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from this dangerous behavior,” stated Attorney General Hood.  “Google’s lack of response leaves us no choice except to issue subpoenas to Google for possible violations of state consumer protection acts and other state and federal civil and criminal laws.  We attorneys general are duty-bound to enforce our consumer protection laws and other civil and criminal statutes,” said Attorney General Hood.  “Google is aiding and abetting criminal activity and putting consumers at risk.  This is of grave concern to the chief law enforcement officers of this nation,” Attorney General Hood continued. Attorney General Hood leads a group of national attorneys general who are concerned that Google’s auto-complete feature often leads innocent users to sites known to sell counterfeit goods which appear at the top of the Google search results.  Additionally, attorneys general are concerned that some of the sites selling counterfeit goods are advertising with Google.  As co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Intellectual Property Committee, Attorney General Hood, has made concerns known to Google but without any substantive response to date. Therefore, Attorney General Hood sent a letter to Google’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Page inviting him to a national meeting of the attorneys general on June 18 in Boston. Due to Google’s refusal to participate on the panel and to work with attorneys general, Attorney General Hood stated he would subpoena Google’s records and emails and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. He also called on all conscientious investors in Google and Google’s legitimate advertiser to push Google to stop encouraging innocent users via its auto-complete feature to buy prescription drugs without a prescription and to download pirated music, movies, and software and to delist, or at least demote, from its search results of rogue, serial pirating sites of which Google has been given thousands of notices. Attorney General Hood also advised his colleagues that he would provide the Department of Justice with evidence of drug purchases his investigators made using Google auto-complete from Google advertisers after the DOJ entered an agreement to not prosecute Google for the same conduct. Hood believes Google breached this agreement.  At today’s meeting, Attorney General Hood showed slides of the positive lab results of these drugs.  The areas of concern are: Content Removal - Google claims to only remove content from its search results in a narrow set of circumstances.  The phrase “narrow set of circumstances” seems misleading. Google’s own policies on child exploitation state, “we block search results that lead to child pornography. This is a legal requirement and the right thing to do.” However, Google also removes other types of content. For instance, Google removes content from its German portal that glorifies the Nazi party on   google.de or insults religion on google.co.in in India. Why will Google not remove websites or de-index known websites that purport to sell prescription drugs without a prescription or provide pirated content?  Content removal can be done, but it appears Google is unwilling to remove content related to the purchase of prescription drugs without a prescription or the downloading of pirated movies and songs. Auto Complete - Google claims in its April 19th letter that “the predictions that appear in auto complete are an algorithmic reflection of query terms that are popular with our users and on the internet. Google does not manually select these terms or determine what queries are considered related to each other.” This statement is misleading. For example, a user cannot type in “free child” and receive an auto complete of the words “porn” or “pornography.”  Google blocks an auto complete of the phrase “free child porn.” However, the phrase “buy oxycodone online” is autocompleted with the words “no prescription cod.” Google states in its April 19th letter that removing generic terms such as “prescription” or “online” is vastly overbroad.  The issue is not about these words as stand-alone search terms, but phrases that facilitate known illegal behavior.  For example, if you type in “buy oxycod,” the auto complete will provide “buy oxycodone online no prescription cod” as one of the choices.  Another example is typing in “watch movies free so” and auto complete supplies “watch movies free solar.”  Solarmovie is a known rogue website.  The suggested search term by Google, “solar,” results in extensive sites containing infringing content on the first page of results. Can Google not remove phrases from auto complete such as “buy oxycodone online no prescription cod” or “watch movies free solar” without removing stand-alone terms? Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notices - Google has repeatedly stated that “sites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in our results.”  However, websites that continue to appear very prominently in Google search results are the same websites highly listed on Google’s Transparency Report. For example, single searches for a popular new DVD released film results in the website torrentz.eu on the first hit of the search. Torrentz.eu has received over 2,103,239 URL removal requests according to Google’s Transparency Report. Role of search engines in curbing sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals - Google does not mention the role of “search’ at all in response to this question implying that search is not an issue of concern despite what is mentioned above.  Moreover, Google does not mention its platform YouTube and the role of search and advertising on YouTube in promoting illegal activities. For example, users can search for and view videos purporting to sell prescription drugs without a prescription and other illegal activities all while viewing paid advertisements.  What steps is Google taking to address advertising in conjunction with illicit videos on YouTube? Consumers, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-06-18T18:48:24+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/greenville_resident_facing_seven_counts_of_medicaid_fraud http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/greenville_resident_facing_seven_counts_of_medicaid_fraud#When:08:45:57Z A Greenville resident has been indicted and arrested on charges of Medicaid Fraud, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.  Marguerite Wilson, 31, of Greenville turned herself in to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office June 11 following indictment by a Washington County grand jury on seven counts of Medicaid Fraud.  At time crimes are alleged to have occurred,  Wilson was working as a case manager for Delta Community Mental Health Center.Jackson, MS - A Greenville resident has been indicted and arrested on charges of Medicaid Fraud, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. Marguerite Wilson, 31, of Greenville turned herself in to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office June 11 following indictment by a Washington County grand jury on seven counts of Medicaid Fraud. At time crimes are alleged to have occurred,  Wilson was working as a case manager for Delta Community Mental Health Center. The indictment alleges that Wilson did knowingly, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously cause to be presented, claims for Medicaid benefits which were false, fictitious or fraudulent, by submitting approximately 2,346 units of service (each unit represents 15 minutes) for billing to Division of Medicaid and totaling approximately $34,908.48. The services are alleged to not actually have been rendered by Wilson as she was working elsewhere during the same hours.  If convicted of the charges against her, Wilson faces up to 35 years and $350,000 in fines.  As with all cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  This is case is being investigated by Investigator David Domino and Auditor Gilda Holbrook of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.  Special Assistant Attorney General Sue Perry will prosecute. Crime, Fraud, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-06-18T08:45:57+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/hinds_county_resident_arrested_second_time_for_depraved_heart_murder http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/hinds_county_resident_arrested_second_time_for_depraved_heart_murder#When:08:41:43Z A Hinds County resident has been arrested a second time for depraved heart murder, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.  Tracey Lynn Garner (formerly known as Morris Garner), age 52, of Jackson was arrested Thursday (June 13) by Investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division Intellectual Property Task Force, with assistance from investigators with the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit, and charged with one count of depraved heart murder.Jackson, MS - A Hinds County resident has been arrested a second time for depraved heart murder, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. Tracey Lynn Garner (formerly known as Morris Garner), age 52, of Jackson was arrested Thursday (June 13) by Investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division Intellectual Property Task Force, with assistance from investigators with the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit, and charged with one count of depraved heart murder. Garner has been indicted in Hinds County on the recent charges involving the death of a Selma, Alabama resident while Garner was performing a buttocks augmentation.  The indictment alleges that Garner, on or about January 13, 2010, “did kill Marilyn Hale…by means of injecting a silicone substance into the body of Marilyn Hale, thereby committing an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart.” Garner was arrested at his home where he was under house arrest facing charges in another depraved heart murder case involving the death of Atlanta Georgia resident, Karima Gordon, who also allegedly received injections of a foreign and possible counterfeit substance during an illegal buttocks augmentation performed by Garner at her 1020 Peyton Avenue address in Jackson.  “Our intellectual property task force is involved in these cases to investigate the possibility that the substances injected into the victims were a counterfeit version of silicone,” said Attorney General Hood The Attorney General encourages anyone who may have received a buttocks or breast augmentation from this defendant to please notify the AG’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-281-4418. If convicted of these crimes, Garner faces up to life in prison.  As with all cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The case is being investigated by Lee McDivitt and Richie McCluskey of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division Intellectual Property Task Force. Prosecution of the case will handled by the division director, Assistant Attorney General Patrick Beasley. Crime, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-06-17T08:41:43+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/greene_county_surveyor_arrested_for_crimes_in_perry_county http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/greene_county_surveyor_arrested_for_crimes_in_perry_county#When:08:39:35Z The Greene County Surveyor has been arrested for crimes in Perry County, confirmed Attorney General Jim Hood today.  Billy Eugene Brewer, 69, who currently serves as Greene County Surveyor, was arrested at his home in Leakesville on Thursday by investigators with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.  Brewer is facing four counts of false pretense and four counts fraudulent use of identity.  Brewer is alleged to have performed four surveys on properties in Perry County while being unlicensed and illegally using another surveyors name and license.Jackson, MS - The Greene County Surveyor has been arrested for crimes in Perry County, confirmed Attorney General Jim Hood today. Billy Eugene Brewer, 69, who currently serves as Greene County Surveyor, was arrested at his home in Leakesville on Thursday by investigators with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.  Brewer is facing four counts of false pretense and four counts fraudulent use of identity.  Brewer is alleged to have performed four surveys on properties in Perry County while being unlicensed and illegally using another surveyors name and license. Brewer was booked into the Perry County Detention Center.  Bond has not yet been set, nor have any court appearances. The case is being investigated by Bo Luckey and will be prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorneys General Patrick Beasley and Alexander Kassoff of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.  As with all cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Crime, Fraud, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-06-14T08:39:35+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_generals_opinion_regarding_house_bill_2_gun_carry http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_generals_opinion_regarding_house_bill_2_gun_carry#When:19:03:20Z Attorney General Jim Hood has been asked to opine on House Bill 2 (gun carry).Attorney General Jim Hood has been asked to opine on House Bill 2 (gun carry).  Click here to read the opinion.  Featured, Press Releases, 2013-06-13T19:03:20+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_hood_asking_google_to_address_alleged_violations_of_intell http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_hood_asking_google_to_address_alleged_violations_of_intell#When:16:18:05Z Attorney General Jim Hood is asking internet giant Google to substantially address issues on its internet site that are allowing consumers to obtain illegal and counterfeit goods, including the online sale of dangerous drugs without a prescription.  Attorney General Hood leads a group of national attorneys general who are concerned that Google’s search algorithm often leads to sites known to sell counterfeit goods being at the top of the Google search results.  Additionally, attorneys general are concerned that some of the sites selling counterfeit goods are advertising with Google.  Jackson, MS - Attorney General Jim Hood is asking internet giant Google to substantially address issues on its internet site that are allowing consumers to obtain illegal and counterfeit goods, including the online sale of dangerous drugs without a prescription. Attorney General Hood leads a group of national attorneys general who are concerned that Google’s search algorithm often leads to sites known to sell counterfeit goods being at the top of the Google search results.  Additionally, attorneys general are concerned that some of the sites selling counterfeit goods are advertising with Google.  “On every check we have made, Google’s search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games,” said Attorney General Hood.  “This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior.” As co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Intellectual Property Committee, Attorney General Hood, has made concerns known to Google but without any substantive response to date.  Therefore, Attorney General Hood sent a letter to Google’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Page inviting him to a national meeting of the attorneys general on June 18 in Boston to address concerns which include: Content Removal - Google claims to only remove content from its search results in a narrow set of circumstances.  The phrase “narrow set of circumstances” seems misleading. Google’s own policies on child exploitation state, “we block search results that lead to child pornography. This is a legal requirement and the right thing to do.”  However, Google also removes other types of content. For instance, Google removes content from its German portal that glorifies the Nazi party on google.de or insults religion on google.co.in in India. Why will Google not remove websites or de-index known websites that purport to sell prescription drugs without a prescription or provide pirated content?  Content removal can be done, but it appears Google is unwilling to remove content related to the purchase of prescription drugs without a prescription or the downloading of pirated movies and songs. Auto Complete - Google claims in its April 19th letter that “the predictions that appear in auto complete are an algorithmic reflection of query terms that are popular with our users and on the internet. Google does not manually select these terms or determine what queries are considered related to each other.” This statement is misleading. For example, a user cannot type in “free child” and receive an auto complete of the words “porn” or “pornography.”  Google blocks an auto complete of the phrase “free child porn.” However, the phrase “buy oxycodone online” is autocompleted with the words “no prescription cod.” Google states in its April 19th letter that removing generic terms such as “prescription” or “online” is vastly overbroad.  The issue is not about these words as stand-alone search terms, but phrases that facilitate known illegal behavior.  For example, if you type in “buy oxycod,” the auto complete will provide “buy oxycodone online no prescription cod” as one of the choices.  Another example is typing in “watch movies free so” and auto complete supplies “watch movies free solar.”  Solarmovie is a known rogue website.  The suggested search term by Google, “solar,” results in extensive sites containing infringing content on the first page of results. Can Google not remove phrases from auto complete such as “buy oxycodone online no prescription cod” or “watch movies free solar” without removing stand-alone terms? Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notices - Google has repeatedly stated that “sites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in our results.”  However, websites that continue to appear very prominently in Google search results are the same websites highly listed on Google’s Transparency Report. For example, single searches for a popular new DVD released film results in the website torrentz.eu on the first hit of the search. Torrentz.eu has received over 2,103,239 URL removal requests according to Google’s Transparency Report. Role of search engines in curbing sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals - Google does not mention the role of “search” at all in response to this question implying that search is not an issue of concern despite what is mentioned above.  Moreover, Google does not mention its platform YouTube and the role of search and advertising on YouTube in promoting illegal activities. For example, users can search for and view videos purporting to sell prescription drugs without a prescription and other illegal activities all while viewing paid advertisements.  What steps is Google taking to address advertising in conjunction with illicit videos on YouTube? Google is being asked to adequately address the attorneys general concerns or prepare to be slapped with subpoenas forcing the company to produce documents and answer questions.    “We attorneys general are duty-bound to enforce our consumer protection laws and other civil and criminal statutes,” said Attorney General Hood.  “Google is aiding and abetting criminal activity and putting consumers at risk.  This is of grave concern to the chief law enforcement officers of this nation.”  CLICK HERE to view google letters. 2013-06-07T16:18:05+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_warns_mississippians_about_scams_related_to_recent_oklahom http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_warns_mississippians_about_scams_related_to_recent_oklahom#When:14:54:08Z Attorney General Jim Hood is issuing a warning for Mississippians to be aware of scams related to the recent tragedy following the severe storms and devastation in Oklahoma.  “Mississippians have generous hearts and are so open to giving that they are often targeted by con-artists who choose to use tragic events like the Oklahoma tornado to scam money out of people,” said Attorney General Hood.  “I would just caution our residents to be alert and to only donate to reputable charities such as the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.”Jackson, MS - Attorney General Jim Hood is issuing a warning for Mississippians to be aware of scams related to the recent tragedy following the severe storms and devastation in Oklahoma.  “Mississippians have generous hearts and are so open to giving that they are often targeted by con-artists who choose to use tragic events like the Oklahoma tornado to scam money out of people,” said Attorney General Hood.  “I would just caution our residents to be alert and to only donate to reputable charities such as the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.” Anyone who thinks they may have fallen victim to such a scam should call the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-281-4418. “Our hearts go out to Oklahomans and to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office as they fight scams, fraud and price gouging in the affected communities,” said Attorney General Hood. Consumers, Consumer Scams, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-05-24T14:54:08+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_generals_cyber_team_arrests_two_for_child_exploitation http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_generals_cyber_team_arrests_two_for_child_exploitation#When:09:47:54Z Two Mississippians are facing charges of child exploitation, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.  Travis Arnold, 28, of Hattiesburg was arrested Wednesday by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office,  and charged with two counts of child exploitation.  Arnold was booked into the Forrest County Detention Center.  Bond has not yet been set.  Charles Michael English, 58, of Laurel, was arrested Monday by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Jones County Sheriff’s Office,  and charged with one count of child exploitation.  English was booked into the Jones County jail.  His bond was set at $500,000.Jackson, MS - Two Mississippians are facing charges of child exploitation, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today. Travis Arnold, 28, of Hattiesburg was arrested Wednesday by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office,  and charged with two counts of child exploitation.  Arnold was booked into the Forrest County Detention Center.  Bond has not yet been set.  Charles Michael English, 58, of Laurel, was arrested Monday by the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Jones County Sheriff’s Office,  and charged with one count of child exploitation.  English was booked into the Jones County jail.  His bond was set at $500,000.  The Laurel Police Department is a member of the Attorney General’s ICAC Task Force. Both defendants are alleged to have been in possession of child pornography and face five to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections for each count.  As with all cases, the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Crime, CyberCrime, Sex Offenders, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-05-23T09:47:54+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_warns_consumers_of_recent_email_scam2 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_warns_consumers_of_recent_email_scam2#When:11:52:25Z Attorney General Jim Hood is warning consumers and businesses to be aware of a recent email scam purporting to help overseas military personnel with packages in the U.S.  The unsolicited email suggests that the sender is a military officer who has two military trunk boxes that just arrived in the U.S.A. and is needing help with safekeeping. In order to help, a reply is needed where then, the alleged military officer claims to have $40 million dollars in the trunks and needs an address to send the money to until he returns. The email continues to ask the recipient for various types of information such as who their employer is, marriage status and a request for a copy of a form of identification.Jackson, MS - Attorney General Jim Hood is warning consumers and businesses to be aware of a recent email scam purporting to help overseas military personnel with packages in the U.S..  The unsolicited email suggests that the sender is a military officer who has two military trunk boxes that just arrived in the U.S.A. and is needing help with safekeeping. In order to help, a reply is needed where then, the alleged military officer claims to have $40 million dollars in the trunks and needs an address to send the money to until he returns. The email continues to ask the recipient for various types of information such as who their employer is, marriage status and a request for a copy of a form of identification. An investigator with the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office has confirmed this email is a scam that is originating overseas. “Scam artists will use the names of respected military personnel and organizations to lure consumers into thinking they are helping someone in our military or a trusted entity, when in fact the scammer is actually asking for your information they can use to engage in various scams such as sending you counterfeit checks, postal money orders or stealing your identity” said Attorney General Hood. “Because of this, we continue to urge consumers to use caution before acting on unsolicited emails, voice mails, text messages or phone calls requesting personal information and/or money. Educating consumers is one of the most important actions we can take to combat scams.” Bogus phone calls and emails are constantly surfacing.  The Attorney General offers some basic tips to help keep you from becoming a victim of these or similar scams: *NEVER reply to an email, pop-up, telephone or text message that asks for personal or financial information. Legitimate companies WILL NOT ask for this information. *ALWAYS contact the organization using a telephone number you know to be correct if you are concerned about your account. Do not call or text the number left in the message, and NEVER follow an internet link to a site. *ALWAYS keep your anti-virus software up to date. In addition, use a firewall, which helps to make you invisible on the Internet and blocks communication from unauthorized sources. *BE CAUTIOUS about opening attachments or downloading files from emails you receive, regardless of the sender. Anyone who suspects they have been a victim of this scam or any other, should contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-281-4418. Consumers, Consumer Scams, Featured, Press Releases, 2013-05-15T11:52:25+00:00 http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_and_police_chiefs_host_third_annual_candlelight_vigil http://agjimhood.com/index.php/press/releases/attorney_general_and_police_chiefs_host_third_annual_candlelight_vigil#When:11:49:22Z Attorney General Jim Hood and the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police join together in hosting the third annual “Mississippi Fallen Law Enforcement Officer’s Candlelight Vigil”.  The event is being held today at 6:30 p.m.  at the Statewide Fallen Officers Memorial on the plaza between the Sillers and Gartin Justice buildings off High Street in downtown Jackson.  “Our wall currently contains the name of 215 Mississippi officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice trying to make our communities safer,” said Attorney General Hood.  “We honor that sacrifice every day, but especially today with this special ceremony.”  The candlelight vigil coincides with National Police Week May 12-18, 2013.Jackson, MS - Attorney General Jim Hood and the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police join together in hosting the third annual “Mississippi Fallen Law Enforcement Officer’s Candlelight Vigil”.  The event is being held today at 6:30 p.m.  at the Statewide Fallen Officers Memorial on the plaza between the Sillers and Gartin Justice buildings off High Street in downtown Jackson. “Our wall currently contains the name of 215 Mississippi officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice trying to make our communities safer,” said Attorney General Hood.  “We honor that sacrifice every day, but especially today with this special ceremony.” The candlelight vigil coincides with National Police Week May 12-18, 2013. “Last year three names were added to our memorial wall,” said Ken Winter, executive director of the Mississippi Chiefs of Police Association.  “We honor Sheriff John Elbert Nelson of George County, Deputy Sheriff Edgar Allen Harrell of Marion County and Investigator Michael John Walter of the Pearl Police Department for their sacrifice in 2012.”  Two officers have been killed in the line of duty statewide so far in 2013, Chief Randy Boykin of the Enterprise Police Department and Detective Eric Smith of the Jackson Police Department.  Their names have not yet been inscribed on the wall.  Members of the public, along with family and friends of any Mississippi law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty, are invited to join officers from the Mississippi Chiefs of Police Association, the Mississippi Sheriffs Association, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries Department, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office at the event. Featured, Press Releases, 2013-05-14T11:49:22+00:00