Candlelight vigil held to honor fallen officer Sr. Cpl. Segus Jolivette 

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday to honor fallen Lafayette police officer, Sr. Cpl. Segus Jolivette.

The 35-year-old police officer died Thursday, July 25, when an attempt by the Jeanerette City Marshal to serve an arrest warrant turned into an hours-long standoff. According to the Lafayette Police Department, the standoff suspect fired multiple shots at law enforcement officers. Two officers were shot and two others were injured by bullet fragments, police said.

City leaders, officials, family and friends of Jolivette, and those impacted by him, gathered outside the Lafayette Police Department on Tuesday to remember him.

Chaplin Francis Fontenot prayed, "Lord Jesus, who's loving heart was ever touched by the sorrow of others. Have mercy upon the souls of the faithful departed, especially our brother Segus Jolivette, and grant him a place of refreshment, light, and peace whence pain and sorrow and sigh are driven away."

LPD Interim Police Chief Paul Trouard said it was amazing to see the support from the community show up. He shared he has been receiving many calls including the White House, the FBI, the Attorney General’s Office and the Mayor-President’s Office, to name a few. 

“They always asked the exact same question and that is, 'how is law enforcement in Lafayette? How is your community?' And I say that’s the easiest question I can answer because we're not a community. We're a family and like a family, sometimes we rejoice. Sometimes we fuss and fight and like tonight, we have to mourn. But I want you to know from you to me, you will forever be our family and I thank you for giving us the chance to celebrate Segus tonight,” Trouard said.

Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet expressed that while they celebrate the fallen officer’s life, she did not know him but has learned of him through his family and his fellow officers. 

“One that loved what he did. Who always wanted to be a police officer. One who showed up every day, I think, with an infectious smile, one that spread a smile, full of love, and can see that in this community, not just here tonight, but in the entire community,” she said. 

She said that tragic death is one of the most unimaginable things for a family to experience and it can do two things. Which is to create great division or it can create great unity. She said Jolivette’s love and smile created much unity in this community.

“Many people pulling together that is really very powerful and it speaks to who he was as an officer,” said Boulet.

“He represents all that is good in Lafayette, and I am honored to be in this position tonight. Heartbroken for the reason we're here, but honored by the community and by the outpouring and by the support. We truly are here for your family," Boulet continued. 

A message to the family, she said, “You will experience great celebration in the next couple of days. That is beautiful. It is an outpouring of an entire community to support you and in the coming weeks and months, it will get hard again and you have to choose to stay together. You have to choose to get up and walk and function and live because that's what he would have wanted and what he would have done.” 

She also said, “There is a lot of love that he left to help each one of these kids as they grow and turn into their own adults and contribute, probably some of them with public service the way he did. They will walk in his footsteps and we will support them.” 

Family members of Jolivette spoke and reflected on how Jolivette always wanted to be a police officer. 

“He has pursued that diligently throughout his life to the point that his sons never wanted to be anything else for Halloween or for any school dress-up days; they all wanted to be police officers like him. That’s how strong and dedicated, compassionate he was and the things that he did,” said one family member.

His daughter spoke during the event, telling the audience, “Daddy chose to be the hero for life.”

They shared how his son would help his father get dressed for work and knew his routine. 

“It wasn't a job for him, and he never took off his uniform. To see the support of the community, you guys showing it back to him with the same energy that he gave to every one of you without even asking, it speaks volumes to him and I promise you, he is smiling down and gracious and thankful that his life meant something to everyone,” said a family member.

“I don’t think there’s a blueprint for dealing with something like this, but when you have the community support, when you have the community coming together for this, that's the only thing that matters," the family member continued.

Pastor Myron Guillory with Our Savior Church said in times like these words are hard to come by, even in terms of encouragement but he urged the family to look around and see the support of the community due to the amazing work of Sr. Cpl. Jolivette. 

“We're going to come together and live our lives as Cpl. Jolivette would want us to live our lives and that's living in unity, that's living in harmony. That's living in love,” he said.

“I'm truly a believer in the world and all things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Yes, this is a tragedy. Yes, we are crying with you. Yes, we are mourning with you. But we also believe that there was hope. We know that Officer Segus he's in heaven right now. He's celebrating right now. He has so much joy right now. He has so much peace right now," Guillory said.

"So in that, I hope that you can rest assured that there's hope in Jesus Christ. We love you. We're here for you and anything that you need from us, you know that we're going to be here to support you," he continued. 

Colossians 1:10 was the focus verse. “Just live a worthy life of the Lord and please Him in every way.” 

It was said that Officer Jolivette lived a worthy life of the Lord and if anybody ever met him, the first thing you saw was that big smile.

Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Thursday at Our Saviors Church in Opelousas. 

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