“We’re like family, we’re one” | John McDonogh alumni celebrate Detective Everett Briscoe’s life
“It’s a tough moment because we’re a family,” said Giovanni Lincoln, a 1999 McDonogh graduate. “If one hurts, we all hurt.”
NEW ORLEANS – Green and gold balloons soared over John McDonogh High School in New Orleans Wednesday night, honoring 41-year-old New Orleans police officer Everett Briscoe, a 1998 graduate.
“He was like my brother, ”said a classmate Courtney Brumfield.
Brumfield remembers the 13-year-old NOPD veteran, husband, and father of two as gentle giants with a love of music.
“Jazz, music, entertainment, that’s what he did, ”said Brumfield.
He was celebrated on the steps of his alma mater when the sounds of a jazz band filled the air and turned Esplanade Avenue into an improvised dance floor. With all the high notes, however, the reality was that a classmate is gone.
“It’s a tough moment because we’re a family, ”said Giovanni Lincoln, 1999 McDonogh graduate. “If one hurts, we all hurt.”
Briscoe and his Zulu colleague, 43-year-old Dyrin Riculfy, were shot dead in Houston last weekend. According to police, Briscoe died in a robbery outside a restaurant and Riculfy was seriously injured. Briscoe’s body was brought to New Orleans on Tuesday. Ricolfy is still in a hospital in Houston.
“Death is inevitable, but it hits harder when it is unnecessary to someone of this stature and we will remember it forever, ”said Karmen McKinley, 1994 McDonogh graduate.
On the Northshore there was a candlelight vigil Tuesday night for both men in Slidell, where Riculfy owned a business. The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office shared photos of people meeting.
Back at McDonogh High, family is all about these close-knit graduates.
“We are New Orleans. That’s us, ”said Brumfield. “We are like a family. We are one.”
“When Trojans are called to come together, we come together en masse, ”McKinley said.
This fashion is presented in a way that New Orleans knows best and honors a man they say was one of the best.
Houston Police are still trying to track down the two men they say were responsible for the shooting that killed Briscoe and injured Riculfy. The reward for information that will help make this happen is now $ 100,000.