Roll of Honor
Incident
Constable Raye Hawkins was killed when his vehicle was struck by a stolen pickup truck being pursued by other officers at around 2:30 pm.
The pursuit started in Tallahatchie County when deputies attempted to stop the stolen vehicle that was occupied by two juvenile offenders. The juveniles lead the deputies on a pursuit that entered Panola County and continued towards Batesville. Constable Hawkins was responding to assist in the pursuit when the vehicle struck his car at a high rate of speed at the intersection of Route 35 and Route 6, causing him to suffer fatal injuries.
Both juveniles were taken into custody and charged as adults with felony murder. One subject was sentenced to 40 years in prison and the second was sentenced to 30 years.
Constable Hawkins had served in law enforcement for 29 years. His son is a police officer with the Batesville Police Department and was one of the first officers on the scene following the crash.
it will be 4 years today and it still seems like yesterday.. I am glad to say I can steal remember Raye leaving my house on 12/11 and as he did as he did when he left or done with our phone call was to tell me LOVE YA SIS It has taken me years to even go back on to the things that were being done to honor him and Raye I can always see Raye .. yall did that all for me... everyone loved Raye and as a sister can tell you he could be a pain in the but sometimes but he was the best of the best brother.
Diane Tutor (sister) Panola County MS December 12th, 2023
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-MS-29276E55- Stewardship
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- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
29 years. You could have gone home.
Constable Hawkins gave the Panola County Constable's Office 29 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Courtland community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable Hawkins.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable Eula Ray "Raye" Hawkins is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MS, 89 of 349 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 25.5% of this state's fallen. That is 5.5 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Eula Ray "Raye" Hawkins's cause is highlighted.
How Eula Ray "Raye" Hawkins Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to 40 years
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Eula Ray "Raye" Hawkins is highlighted in Dec.