[Carol Costello, Cnn Anchor:] And touchy topic. "SNL" taking on the draw Muhammad controversy. Did it cross the line? Let's talk. Live in the CNN NEWSROOM. And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Heartbreak in a small southern town. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, coming together today to remember two police officers gunned down over the weekend. That memorial service set for this afternoon. Also today court appearances for the accused cop killers and two others accused of helping them afterwards.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Curtis, did you do it?
[Unidentified Male:] No, sir, I didn't do it. No, sir, I didn't do it.
[Costello:] Obviously that's one of the suspects. One of the victims, Officer Benjamin Deen, 34 years old, the father of two children. Just a few years ago the department honored him as Officer of the Year. The other slain officer, a rookie. Liquori Tate was living his life- long dream as a police officer. This morning we heard from his mother on "NEW DAY."
[Youlander Ross, Mother Of Officer Liquor Tate:] He always wanted to be a police officer since he was young. Playing with police cars and having Xbox games, and just having a protective spirit. That has always been one of his dreams.
[Costello:] I want to take you live to Hattiesburg now and CNN's Alina Machado. Good morning.
[Alina Machado, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Carol. Those four suspects are expected to go before a judge this afternoon. They are facing a long list of charges connected to that shooting that left those two police officers dead. Now I want to show you the pictures of the suspects. Two of them are charged with two counts of capital murder. 22-year-old Joanie Calloway is one. The other is 29-year-old Marvin Banks. He is also charged with grand theft auto. Police believe that he took one of the police vehicles as a getaway car. His younger brother, Curtis Banks, is also facing two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder and the fourth suspects, Cornelius Clark, is charged with obstruction of justice. Now at this point police here have not released many details in terms of what led to the actual shooting. What we know is that Officer Deen conducted the initial stop. It was a traffic stop. He called for backup. And that's when Officer Tate responded. What happened next in those moments right before the shooting we don't know but we definitely know that these two officers, their lives tragically lost in those moments. Also today, we know that there's going to be a memorial service this afternoon to honor the lives of those two fallen officers Carol.
[Costello:] All right. Alina Machado, reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. The murder of police officers will shake any community to its core but the heartbreak may be even more gut-wrenching in a small town like Hattiesburg. Listen to the family of Liquori Tate describe the extraordinary compassion shown to them when they arrived at the hospital and found out their officer child had not survived.
[Bernell Lonnie Ross, Stepfather Of Officer Liquor Tate:] They took us in a room and when we got the news of course we fell out in grief. And it was amazing the police officers as well as staff and the mayor, they fell out with us in grief and grieved with us. It was really very emotional. We walked through and saw the family of the other officer whose life was taken as well and we knew that this was just something much more serious than we we imagined before we walked into the hospital.
[Costello:] Joining me now on the phone is Johnny Dupree, the Hattiesburg mayor who grieved with the family at the hospital. Welcome, Mr. Mayor.
[Mayor Johnny Dupree , Hattiesburg, Mississippi:] Thank you, Carol.
[Costello:] Tell me what it was like in those moments at the hospital where you shared grief with the family.
[Dupree:] It was the most difficult thing I think I've ever done. Not only doing it once but having to do it twice. They are fabulous families. Both families. You know, stronger than I thought that any family could be during this time when even though they knew that their loved ones were going out to protect and to serve people they don't even know. They're resilient. Today you can call and they can talk you talk to Reverend Ross and I just heard him on the radio and it's the first time I've heard him speak about that night and how strong this family is and what kind of faith they have to be able to talk at this time.
[Costello:] Mayor, do police know why these suspects allegedly opened fire on these officers?
[Dupree:] Well, certainly, Carol, you know, we continue our investigation and the Department of Investigation along with other agencies are continuing that investigation. And, you know, we want to make sure that when we prosecute these individuals that we have a strong case and we have one that's not tainted by information getting out that should not be getting out. And so based on all that, Carol, we know I can only tell you so much and that's not one of the things that I can divulge. But we do know that there was a reason why Officer Deen called for backup and I'm sure all of that will be will come out at a time when we know that it will be used put to good use.
[Costello:] Was there dash cam video?
[Dupree:] Carol, I will again tell you that, you know, we're technology savvy here in Hattiesburg, even though we're not a really large city. But the kinds of things that I can share with you, in the end our Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has not allowed me to share much more than what we've already shared now. But I promise you, you know, at 3:00 today these individuals will be arraigned and maybe some of these things, some of the questions that you are asking may come out during that time. But as you see, we have we have three suspects, I mean, within hours we had three suspects in hand, and many people thought that that was over but because we were diligent in our investigation and making sure the crime scene was pristine and make sure that we evaluated all the evidence, we were able to come up with a fourth individual. We want to make sure we get everybody involved, want to make sure that we don't taint this investigation and make sure that when we bring them to justice that justice will be served.
[Costello:] Mayor, some say it's open season on police officers right now because of the climate in the country. Do you agree?
[Dupree:] Well, you know, we don't see that in Hattiesburg. You know, I hear that and I get that question, I've gotten that question I don't know how many times. And I try to share with people that I believe that the vast majority of police officers in cities are just like Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I have to believe that. And I believe that we have a fabulous city here. We have a great relationship. I wish that we were perfect. We are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but we strive every day in the community of policing and we strive every day to make sure that citizens know that they count and not only they count but police officers count as well. I believe the vast majority of the cities of our great nation are like Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and that what we see are those things that happen that are out of the ordinary. I just have to believe that.
[Costello:] Mayor Johnny Dupree, thank you so much. I appreciate you being with me this morning.
[Dupree:] Thank you, Carol.
[Costello:] Turn our attention now to Madison, Wisconsin, where the district is planning to release the findings from a more than two- month long investigation into the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager Tony Robinson. Rosa Flores has been following the story. The interesting thing about this is authorities in Madison came out with a two-day warning that get ready, Madison, because we're going to make this announcement and we want everybody, like, to chill.
[Rosa Flores, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes. And the other thing, Carol, is that if you think of the day that it was yesterday. It's Mother's Day. So the mother of Tony Robinson received a phone call from authorities on Mother's Day. This is the first Mother's Day after her son was shot and killed by a police officer, letting her know that the 48-hour notice had been out and that authorities would announce on Tuesday whether or not the police officer, Matt Kenny, would be charged or not. So this was heartbreaking for this mother because she was surrounded by her living children when this phone call came through and they were trying to ease her into Mother's Day because of what has happened to this family. And here's what the spokesperson said happened when she received that phone call.
[Jerome Flowers, Family Spokesperson:] Getting this call right as you're receiving gifts from your other children and seeing your other children then be frustrated with the fact that they're now going to have to take a backseat again and they couldn't just enjoy their mom for this day.
[Flores:] So the mom described it as a bit cruel to do that to anybody. They are hoping for justice, of course. And they say that that would come in the form of whether Officer Matt Kenny is charged or not or something else happened, the department makes some sort of change. But from the get-go they said they have said that they will accept whatever the D.A. comes up with Carol.
[Costello:] Rosa Flores, thanks so much. I appreciate it. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the death toll rising in the latest round of severe storms.
[Unidentified Male:] I see it. It's going to go right over the
[Costello:] Tornadoes tear through the nation's heartlands and the threat isn't over yet. We'll talk about that next.