When Officer Troy Floyd walked into Summit Police Department, he brought something rare with him, according to the man that hired him, Chief Alex Miller.

“When you came through that door, he had a scripture for you,” Miller said. “He was one way every day, and it was positive. He watched everybody’s face to make sure we were okay, and he just knew before you told him something was wrong. It was a special thing that he had and he spread it around to everybody.”

Miller met Floyd when Floyd was working for the Mississippi Department of Corrections and hired him around a year ago.

“We had worked a detail together before, but I was formally introduced to him by Lt. Scott Reeves,” Miller said. “I thought he would be a great asset and could train the younger guys.”

And that’s what Floyd did. He quickly made an impact on the small department with his witness and his interest in his fellow officers. For Miller, he was the perfect addition to the force.

Floyd had just had a new grandbaby within the last month, and prior to that he had just lost his mother. Miller said his fellow officers learned from his example as he navigated those things.

“He always talked about that grandbaby,” the chief said. “He inspired a lot of young men around here to look forward to being fathers and grandfathers, and he showed us the bright side of it.”

Thursday started like any other day, but then came what’s almost an inevitable moment in today’s society that no police chief ever wants to experience.

“When the radio traffic came across…” Miller paused for a long time before going on. “I can’t say it was a bad dream. It was more like we’d finally reached the reality of what we always train for and speak about in meetings and conferences.”

He didn’t know the severity of it, though, not yet.

“No chief wants to hear ‘Officer down,'” he said, again pausing to collect his thoughts.

“I’m empty right now. My words can’t express how… it’s tough, and it’s weighing on me.”

The drive from the police department to the scene isn’t that long, but it was excruciating. Miller said he didn’t want to think the worst, but he didn’t know what to expect.

“When I was heading to the scene I took time to pray,” Miller said. “I had to get there and lay eyes on him. We started chest compressions and got him to the closest hospital, then we got together and started to pray becacuse there was nothing else we could do but put it in God’s hands and make sure the person was caught and held accountable.”

The shooter, 25-year-old Usher Leonard, was killed shortly afterwards. It appears that he ran from the scene and posted to social media, “See y’all in the after life I just faced a cracker ik he dead.” When two McComb police officers approached where he was hiding, a shootout ensued, wounding both of them and leaving him dead.

A female who was also in the vehicle has not been publicly identified, and it’s unclear if she will be charged as an accomplice in the case. Miller said he has thoughts on that, but he trusts the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation to do their job.

“We lean on MBI to prosecute to the fullest, and they allow us to mourn and allow us to grieve,” Miller said. “I trust MBI to do the best of their ability to make sure that justice is done.”

In the meantime, the department prepares for Tuesday’s funeral proceedings. What happens after that, well that remains to be seen.

“We continue to lean on each other and hold each other up. You can’t replace a Troy Floyd. When he came in this department every morning, he spread love, grace, experience,” Miller said. “This needs to be an eye opener for law enforcement worldwide. We gained help nationwide and that should be the standard year-round instead of just when a tragedy happens. Togetherness should be the focus of new law enforcement.”

The chief explained that he had needed a few days before he felt ready to address the media.

“I want to thank everyone for being very patient with our department,” he said. “This isn othing you want to speak on quickly. It’s a huge knot in your throat you can’t swallow. We need to put the importance back in law enforcement. We have to get that standard back.”