Roll of Honor
Incident
Investigator B. Cowart suffered a fatal heart attack after being assaulted by a prisoner at the Clay County Jail.
He was assisting West Point police officers with a civil rights march of students at Mississippi State University and was searching for a student who had been arrested for blocking a sidewalk. The student suddenly spun around, grabbed Investigator Cowart, and pushed him to the ground. Investigator Cowart suffered a heart attack and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The student was charged with manslaughter, but the charges were later dismissed.
Investigator Cowart was a United States Army World War II veteran and had served with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety for 19 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and four siblings.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MS-9F4EF6E0- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Investigator Cowart gave the Mississippi Department of Public Safety 19 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
B. Cowart served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Investigator B. Cowart is one of 1 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In MS, 9 of 350 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 2.6% of this state's fallen. That is 2.6 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. B. Cowart's cause is highlighted.
How B. Cowart Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. B. Cowart is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Military Service
B. Cowart served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Visit B. Cowart’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Mississippi Department of Public Safety - Bureau of Investigation are honored on badge.nw.