Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrolman Mac Hemphill was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic on Route 18, in front of Forest Hill School in Jackson, during a high school football game.
He and another officer were standing in the center of the road when the driver of a vehicle narrowly missed his partner. The car then fatally struck Patrolman Hemphill. The driver of the vehicle, who was traveling more than the posted 30 mph speed limit, was charged with manslaughter.
The driver admitted to having one beer at a restaurant before the crash but was found not guilty during a circuit jury trial on November 27th, 1957.
Patrolman Hemphill had served with the Hinds County Road Patrol for 18 months after retiring from the Jackson Fire Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two adult children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MS-4D83D88B- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You barely got started.
Patrolman Hemphill gave the Hinds County Road Patrol 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Jackson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrolman Hemphill.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrolman Mac Arthur Hemphill 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. Mac Arthur Hemphill's cause is highlighted.
How Mac Arthur Hemphill Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Mac Arthur Hemphill is highlighted in Sep.