On the evening of June 9, the City of Memphis and the entire community said a final farewell to fallen Officer Verdell Smith, honoring him through a Sea of Blue procession. Smith was trying to protect pedestrians when he was hit by a speeding car driven by a criminal suspect on Saturday, June 4.
Beginning at Hope Presbyterian Church, the procession headed west on Walnut Grove to I-240. During the procession, Baptist Memphis offered free parking to anyone in the community who wanted to see the procession, and several team members went a step further to honor Officer Smith. Ten Baptist team members helped distribute bottles of water. Thanks to Krystal Engler, Lisa Moore, Parker Harris, David Evans, Wyatt Bunker, Juli Story, Pamela Johns, Nicole Jones, Dakisha Hawk and Valarie Cayson for their compassionate giving.
Baptist volunteers handed out 300 bottles of water to people who parked at the hospital to watch the procession. More than 540 officers participated in the Sea of Blue.