A candlelight vigil held in Jeanerette Friday to honor the sacrifice made by fallen Lafayette Police Department corporal Segus Jolivette drew support from across the Teche Area.

In addition to first responders from departments across South Louisiana, members of the Jeanerette community, civic leaders, and even members of Cpl. Jolivette’s family were in attendance to pay homage to his sacrifice.

Jolivette, who was described by his fellow law enforcement officers as a consummate professional who lived to serve his community, was killed in a shootout near the intersection of Hubertville Road and Martin Luther King Drive in Jeanerette. Jolivette and several other members of the Lafayette and New Iberia Police Departments were injured after attempts by the Jeanerette Marshal’s Office to serve an arrest warrant for Nyjal Hurst turned into a hostage situation.

According to Jeanerette Mayor Carol Bourgeois, the outpouring of support from the Jeanerette community was not only swift, but comprehensive.

“As you can see, this is almost like when you experience a bad storm or something. The community got together and people immediately began to pour out their hearts and that’s what it takes. We’re all in this together. My heart goes out to the family and we’re trying to be there for them.”

The vigil, which was originally planned to take place at Jeanerette City Hall, featured speeches by several civic and community leaders from Jeanerette and Iberia Parish. Iberia Parish Sheriff Tommy Romero spoke highly of Cpl. Jolivette, adding that while he didn’t know the fallen officer personally, he could tell from pictures that he was exactly the kind of person that people look up to.

According to Romero, the period after the loss of a first responder is difficult for everyone, but special understanding should go out to law enforcement officers as they mourn one of their own.

“People need to understand that the profession is tougher than ever,” he said. “I’ve asked that families teach their children to respect law enforcement, because that helps us out. We’re here to help people, not just throw people in jail. Some people have mental issues and we understand that, but right now law enforcement is being pulled in all directions. It’s a stressful job. When I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to be a law enforcement officer to go out and help people. We’ve gotten to the point now where we’ve gotten so busy that we’re losing that person-to-person contact.”

Sheriff Romero also expressed his gratitude to the Lafayette Police Department for their assistance in the hostage situation, adding that their officers have always been quick to answer his department’s call for help.

“We all have to pool our resources together so that we can accomplish the mission,” he explained. “It’s unfortunate that my office doesn’t have the resources that the Lafayette Police Department has. They came out in full support and we’ve utilized them in the past to help us with hostage situations. They always respond without hesitation. I’ve reached out to the chief and offered my condolences on behalf of my officers. Unfortunately, this type of thing comes with the job, so we’re going to pull our bootstraps up and continue the fight. I think that’s what Cpl. Jolivette would have wanted everyone to do.”