First Responders: Sgt. LaDarius Spivey

MARION, Miss. (WTOK) - A year ago, we introduced you to a 10-year-old who loves law enforcement. He loves it so much that he even used his parent’s Amazon account to order a police uniform.

Now Officer LaDarius Spivey is 11 years old. He celebrated his birthday on Oct. 7. On Friday, the Marion Police Department honored Spivey with a special day.

“Like I tell anybody, we complain about a lot of things in life,” Marion Police Chief Randall Davis explained. “Just think about officer Spivey and what he overcomes every day. It just makes me a better person; there’s no complaints from me.”

We first met Spivey one year ago. We learned that he was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which is a brittle bone disease. He’s undergone 10 surgeries and has suffered more than 300 fractures. His physical limitations are not holding him back. His passion for law enforcement is stronger than ever.

“I got my hat, my whistle and my uniform. I put my money in it,” LaDarius Spivey said.

For years, Spivey was using a manual wheel chair. Three months ago, he upgraded to one that’s motorized, and of course, it has blue stripes.

“It makes him more independent. It also helps to cut down on the fractures in his bones,” parent Patricia Ickom said.

Spivey wears many hats, literally. He’s a Marion police officer, trooper with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and a Meridian police officer. This time around, he’s moving up in rank. He is now Sergeant LaDarius Spivey and he’s excited.

“It feels good. I love these people all over the world because they like to see me in my hat. Yea,” Spivey said.

“He’s a well-rounded officer so I was glad to get him for his experience. It does one thing, it makes my department better to have officer Spivey,” Davis said.

Marion Mayor Larry Gill presented Spivey with Officer of the Year. Representatives from all of the area’s local law enforcement were on-hand to make this a very special day.

“He loves the spotlight because there’s a lot of things he can’t do. Getting him out to be amongst other people really helps him,” Ickom said.

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