BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont Police, family members and friends of a fallen officer gathered at Calvary Baptist Church, Sunday for a balloon release in her memory.
More than a hundred people came out to support Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell’s family and her police family.
Those in attendance wrote messages on the balloons and released them around 8:30 p.m., Sunday night. Powell’s family told 12News that events like the balloon release have kept Powell’s memory alive and have helped them heal.
Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell was killed on Aug. 8, 2020, after being hit by a drunk driver in a wrong-way accident on Cardinal Drive. At the time of Powell’s death, she was 23 years old and had been on the force for almost two years.
When it happened, her and her partner were headed back to the station.
Sheena Yarbrough-Powell and her husband, Tyler Powell, had only been married for 10 months before she died, Jimmy Singletary, Beaumont Police chief, said.
Since Powell’s death, the Beaumont community has worked hard to keep her memory alive.
One day after Powell’s death, her family, friends and the Beaumont Police Department gathered for a remembrance event at Lumberton City Park, where they walked a mile in her honor. They spoke to 12News about what a tragedy her loss was to them.
“I go through periods of dullness where I can't feel anything,” Tyler Powell said in an August 2020 interview. “Then, I go through periods where I can't stand up, and I can't stop crying. I can't fathom the fact that I can't talk to her again or see her again.”
Life was never boring when Sheena Yarbrough-Powell was around, and she loved the Beaumont Police Department and the Beaumont community, Tyler Powell said.
Sheena Yarbrough-Powell graduated from Lumberton High School in 2015, where she was named most friendly, and she later graduated from Lamar University with a degree in criminal justice.
Friends of Officer Sheena Yarbrough-Powell said her commitment to serving and protecting the Beaumont community never wavered.