RIDGELAND, Miss. (WJTV) – Madison Police Officer Randy Tyler was killed during a standoff in Brandon on Thursday, June 1.

Tyler was a seven-year veteran of the Madison Police Department. He was part of the special response team and a supervisor in the narcotics division.

Before joining Madison, he served in the Ridgeland Police Department for 25 years. He was the Chief of Police for Ridgeland from 2014 to 2015.

“Randy was my mentor. I followed him up through the ranks, through C.I.D., and spent a lot of time with him in a car on stakeouts and things of that nature over the years and had many laughs with Randy. He was a he was a he was a jokester, but he also had a serious side. And he was a great planner and thinker when it when it came to tactical considerations and always very sharp and always, I always felt really safe if Randy was in charge of things,” said current Ridgeland Police Chief Brian Myers.

“Chief Tyler worked in the Ridgeland Police Department for over 27 years and became the Chief of Police in 2014. His service to our community from 1987 – 2015 will not be forgotten. Mayor Gene McGee, Ridgeland Board of Alderman, and City staff send their deepest condolences to his family and are thankful that we were able to have Randy as a part of our City family for all of those years,” the City of Ridgeland said in a statement.

Tyler was a graduate of the 228th Session of the F.B.I. National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and was an active member of the MS Chapter of the F.B.I. National Academy Associates.