We lost 'one of the good guys': JPD Officer Allen Harper

Even after two long days of distributing water to those affected by the city of Jackson's recent infrastructure crisis, Jackson Police Department Cpl. Allen Harper kept everyone laughing.

"We were out there all day Friday and Saturday, and I promise you he never ran out of jokes in two days," said JPD Deputy Chief Joseph Wade, who graduated from the JPD Training Academy with Harper in 1996. "It just made the experience fun, and we talked about our academy days. And I had no way of knowing that would be the last time I would talk to him."

Harper, 43, died from head trauma six days after he was injured in a motorcycle accident April 1 at the intersection of High Street and State Street in the city he spent 22 years protecting. The off-duty accident remains under investigation.

Wade said he and Harper called each other "classmate" after those formative experiences that would shape their careers.

"His father was a fireman, so he had some expectations, but I didn't have any military or public service perspective and I was shell-shocked," Wade said, recalling the training he considered incredibly difficult. "We'd get back to the barracks and he would say, 'what a joke.' He would joke about us getting dogged out all day."

That was who the married father of four was. Always smiling, always joking, able to make something positive out of situations that might have made others complain. His friends talked about his warm spirit that drew others to him and made them instinctively trust him.

"He was a gleeful person. Of course you know he wasn't as much of a practical joker with me as he was with his coworkers, right? But there was always a warm greeting," said Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance.

Detective Colendula Green worked the downtown area on the Segways as Harper's partner for several years and recalled not only his humor but his kindness. He cared for the city's homeless, he greeted the business people, and he worked the long city council meetings without complaint, his friends said.

"He wouldn’t meet a stranger. Everyone that came across him loved him instantly," Green said. "We had so many fun moments that he was always the life of the party. He’s a person that the badge he wears, he exemplified it in his character, his integrity. He was our hero, he helped everybody. He was a hero to me."

Harper's kindness and professionalism weren't merely anecdotal. Vance said he can't remember a complaint ever being lodged against the veteran officer. The Clarion-Ledger's archive has several references to Harper making arrests, running down suspects, and giving blood regularly out of a sense of duty.

"I have a very rare blood type, I'm AB positive," he said at the Battle of the Badges blood drive in 2011. "Not a lot of people have that type."

In September of 2015, Harper was instrumental in saving the life of a man who was threatening to jump from a bridge after some relationship problems. He gave the credit to his fellow officers.

"I think that's an example of a heroic act, quick reflexes, following his training and, above all, being a caring individual who happens to be a police officer. His training kicked in and he was able to save that guy's life," Vance said. "Police officers should be heroes in the community, and it's not easy to be a hero sometimes. You have to be prepared to take action when an opportunity presents itself. I think Allen showed himself clearly to be a hero in that incident."

Vance said there has been an outpouring of sorrow, sympathy and love from the Jackson community for the man who was loved by so many.

"When a guy like Allen Harper dies, people in the community feel it because they know they've lost a true servant," Vance said. "It's a sad thing when we lose one of the good guys."

But Harper's spirit will remain with his department, his family and his city.

"I think he's going to be remembered as an honest, hardworking police officer with a great sense of humor, a very personable guy who was very approachable, I think an individual who understood exactly what it meant to be a Jackson police officer and conducted himself accordingly," said Vance. "It's a devastating loss ... We certainly don't have anyone who can replace Allen Harper."

Contact Therese Apel  at 601-961-7236 or tapel@gannett.com . Follow her on Facebook  and Twitter .