Crime & Safety
Scholarship Fund Launched To Honor Fallen Tuscaloosa Police Officer
The scholarship will be open to students in Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties in honor of the fallen TPD investigator.
TUSCALOOSA, AL — A scholarship fund has been established to honor the life and legacy of Tuscaloosa Police Department investigator Dornell Cousette, who was killed in 2019 while attempting to make an arrest.
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The Dornell Cousette Scholarship Fund Board says the annual scholarship will support two students each academic year, with special consideration given to those from law enforcement families.
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Cousette grew up in Aliceville before joining the U.S. Army and began working as a TPD patrolman in 2006, serving as an officer and a juvenile investigator over the next 13 years.
With this in mind, the scholarship will be awarded annually to one high school senior attending the Pickens County school system and another from Tuscaloosa City Schools or the Tuscaloosa County School System.
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“Investigator Cousette loved working with children,” said Sgt. Michael Chaisson, who worked closely with Cousette for many years in TPD’s Juvenile Division. “Supporting the educational aspirations of deserving students is an excellent way to honor his memory.”
The scholarship fund's board says applicants will submit essays about Cousette and must obtain a letter of recommendation from a current or retired law enforcement officer.
“Our hope is that this fund will still provide scholarships to deserving children long after all of us are gone,” Chaisson said.
Members of the scholarship fund’s board include: TPD officers Lt. Henry McCaskill, Sgt. Chaisson, Sgt. David Jones, Sgt. Jody Dean, Inv. Tarrence Webb, Inv. Jonathon Lovejoy and Celita McCaskill, Cousette’s fiancé.
The scholarship will be administered through the Lance Hocutt Financial Group and donors can send contributions to the Lance Hocutt Financial Group, which is located at 1300 McFarland Blvd. N.E. #125, Tuscaloosa, Al., 35406 or through Venmo at @Cousette-fund.
Donations via checks can be made out to the Dornell Cousette Scholarship Fund.
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