Fallen TPD Officer's Legacy Shines On Anniversary Of Death

ALICEVILLE, AL. — A year to the day after Tuscaloosa Police investigator Dornell Cousette was shot and killed in the line of duty, the artificial flowers on the ground at his grave are weathered with time and the colors are slightly faded. Tattered black and blue ribbons signifying his service in law enforcement are draped around two white crosses behind his headstone, but some pins have come loose, leaving frayed ends to flap in the wind.

At this particular time and place Wednesday morning, shortly before noon, there were no mourners, no graveside 21-gun salute and no caravan of police cars with flashing lights to honor Cousette's memory at his family's small corner of Unity Cemetery near Aliceville.

Despite the inevitable passage of time and somber air looming over Cousette's grave on the first anniversary of his death, the indelible legacy left by the 13-year TPD veteran is still very much alive in the minds of those who knew him and the community he served.

"Dornell was a great officer, he was a great man and he had a passion for helping others," said Senior Trooper Reginal King, who serves as public information officer for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA).

King told Patch of his friendship with Cousette, which began when the two worked together early in their respective careers as corrections officers at the Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent. The experience, King said, made both of them better at their jobs on the outside and helped the men develop the keen interpersonal communication skills crucial to law enforcement.

"I saw him in action behind the walls at Bibb County Correctional Facility and saw him in action on the streets of Tuscaloosa," he said. "He was a true servant."

Looking back over the last year, King reflected on the night he received word from a family member that an unnamed Tuscaloosa Police officer had been shot. King said he then immediately called a TPD officer he knew from the same hometown and was told it was Cousette.

"I could just tell by the tone of his voice it wasn’t good," he said.

The night would see Cousette die of a fatal gunshot wound after exchanging fire with 20-year-old Luther Watkins at a home in west Tuscaloosa as he tried to serve an arrest warrant. Watkins, who was also wounded in the shooting, but recovered, has yet to see his case go before a jury and is facing a possible death sentence after being indicted for capital murder.

Cousette and King spoke on the phone just 26 hours prior to the shooting, with King recalling the brief conversation as nothing profound or out of the ordinary — "Just about some work stuff."

"My older brother was a corrections officer and worked the same shift [as Cousette] and they carpooled together every day," he remembered. "They would leave their vehicle at my house. [His death] was tough, it was really tough."

A father of two that was engaged to be married, Cousette was the eighth Tuscaloosa Police officer killed in the line of duty in the city's history. To further preserve his memory, the city in August renamed a stretch of 35th Street, which runs from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Greensboro Avenue, in Cousette's honor.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox reflected on the anniversary of Cousette's death and told Patch that while the community will undoubtedly honor his life and death, that alone will never be enough.

"As time and distance grows from Officer Cousette’s passing, we as a community must keep choosing to follow his legacy – a legacy of courage and of hope," Maddox said. "We must demand more of ourselves and of others every day – doing more and becoming more, following in his footsteps, and continuing to fight for hope.”

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley was a lieutenant in the department when Cousette was killed and told Patch that his fallen comrade stood out as a "textbook example of what makes a good law enforcement officer."

"He was cool-headed, compassionate, hard-working and he cared about everyone he came in contact with," Blankley said. "We heard so many stories from people after he was killed about how he had reached out to them or helped a friend or family member in some way — stories he wouldn’t have talked about or mentioned himself."

In one instance, Blankley recalled an elementary school principal telling him how Cousette brought coats to some students who were found to be living in a park with their family.

"He talked to kids and helped them see their worth, and that it’s never too late for them to start making better decisions," he said. "Dornell worked overnight security in the ER at DCH, where it can sometimes get tense. The nurses and staff have said how they always felt safe when he was working, and how he was able to defuse any potentially bad situations."

Cousette's death dealt an obvious blow to the Tuscaloosa Police Department, but other agencies in the county also continue to mourn the loss of a brother in law enforcement.

"Cousette was a great officer and did a wonderful job working with the youth in Tuscaloosa County," said Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ron Abernathy. "He is incredibly missed. Unfortunately, law enforcement officers face life and death situations throughout their careers. This is a very stressful and demanding time for officers and their families."

Northport Police Chief Gerald Burton told Patch that while Cousette was not a Northport Police officer, the department's daily interactions with all of the agencies in the county allows those in law enforcement to build relationships with each other. When news was received in Northport of the TPD officer's death, Burton said it hit his officers especially hard.

"I remember hearing that he was killed in the line of duty and immediately felt as if a family member was killed," Burton said. "NPD officers felt his death that night and most were in shock, as was I. As tragic as his death was, I feel like it brought law enforcement officers in the county closer and reminded us that life is short and that we need to make sure that we tell our family that we love them before we leave home in that uniform."

Amid nationwide outcry against police tactics and broad criticism aimed at those working in the field, both King and Burton said it's important for the public to remember that police officers, like themselves and Cousette, are people once they take off the badge, but also while they're wearing it.

"We’re human beings first and we’re law enforcement officials next," King said. "The climate that we’re dealing with, though, it’s as tough as it's ever been in my 20 years in law enforcement."

Burton pointed out that many in law enforcement have families and want nothing more than to go to work, make a difference in someone's life, then go home at the end of the day — a privilege that was ultimately denied to Cousette.

"I’m sure that is what Officer Cousette wanted to do, but he never made it home safely," he said. "As an officer, once your shift is over for that day and you take that badge off, you are still a mom, dad, brother, sister or friend to someone."

A year later, Cousette's memory persists in numerous ways in the community he served and, for King, he is regularly reminded of a dear friend who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his community.

"I think about him often, because on my brother’s Facebook Messenger, his profile picture is still the Tuscaloosa Police Department’s emblem, with the blue line through it and Dornell Cousette’s name on it," he said. "So every time he sends me a message, that’s what I see."