Willie Houston "Hoot" West
Agency patch
Constable

Willie Houston "Hoot" West

Accident
End of Watch May 9, 2019
Age 81
Tour of Duty 52 yrs
The Vigil Panel 169 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Constable Hoot West succumbed to injuries sustained three days earlier when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree on Harrison Road.

He was serving civil papers when the crash occurred just before 8:00 am on May 6th, 2019. He was transported to North Mississippi Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries on May 9th.

Constable West had served as the elected constable of Lowndes County’s District 1 since 1971 and was serving his 13th consecutive term. He had previously served with the Columbus Police Department and Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. He had a total of 52 years of law enforcement service and was a founding member and first president of the Mississippi Constables Association.

He is survived by his son, two daughters, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, mother, brother, and two sisters.

Survivors

He is survived by his son, two daughters, five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, mother, brother, and two sisters.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-MS-9EE1F4D1
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

52 years. You could have gone home.
Constable West gave the Lowndes County Constable's Office 52 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable West.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Columbus, MS
Platform Identity lcco.lowndes.ms.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 9, 2019
Tour of Duty 52 yrs
Age 81
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Automobile crash

Constable Willie Houston "Hoot" West 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%.

At Lowndes County Constable's Office, 2 of 2 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 100% of this agency's fallen.

Lowndes County Constable's Office
2
of 2 officers
100% Accident
MS — Statewide
89
of 349 officers
25.5% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Willie Houston "Hoot" West's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Willie Houston "Hoot" West Compares

Age at End of Watch
81
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
52
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Willie Houston "Hoot" West is highlighted in May.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location

Others Who Wore This Badge

1 officer from Lowndes County Constable's Office are honored on badge.nw.