Fallen officer Cpl. Keith Crenshaw of the Eupora Police Department was remembered last week on the fifth anniversary of his death in the line of duty.
Crenshaw was struck and killed Oct. 23, 2013, by a getaway car after an attempted bank robbery here and the armed robbery of a financial business in Grenada as he deployed a spike strip across U.S. 82 near the Highway 9 bypass in front of the car. He was 52.
The EPD, in a Facebook post this Oct. 23, wrote, “Remembering our friend today! He was truly loved by all who knew him and a friend to all.
“There is not a day that goes by that we do not remember Keith and the love he had for this community and being a Eupora police officer. Today we choose to call on all the wonderful memories we made with him!”
Crenshaw’s father, Larry Crenshaw, also posted this remembrance the same day:
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
“As the sun rose Oct. 23, 2013, little did we realize the terrible loss we would suffer that day. Keith on his day off answered the call to duty to ‘Protect and Serve’ and went to help his fellow Brothers in Blue in doing so he gave his all. Gone from this earth too soon. What a void and sorrow he left in our families and hearts. A prayer I would like to share:
“The blow was great, the shock was severe,
We little thought the end was near.
And only those who have lost can tell
The pain of parting without farewell
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you did not go alone.
A part of us went with you.
The day God called you home.
Nothing can ever take away,
The love a heart holds dear.
Fond memories linger every day,
Remembrances keep you near.
“Gone But Never Forgotten”
Aftermath
In August 2014, the segment of U.S. 82 in Webster County between the east and west intersections with Mississippi 182 was designated and named the “Keith Alan Crenshaw Memorial Highway.”
A memorial monument honoring Crenshaw was also erected in front of the Eupora Police Department.
Three Florida men were in the car that struck Crenshaw and hit the base of a metal utility pole afterwards. One passenger died at the scene and the driver died the next day. The surviving passenger, who was a Eupora native, later pleaded guilty in Grenada County to one count of armed robbery and one count of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison.
