A nonprofit dedicated to aiding the families of fallen first responders has paid off the mortgage on the home of a Madison Police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced that it has covered the remaining cost of the Brandon residence belonging to Officer Randy Tyler’s family. The organization paid off the house as part of its Season of Hope campaign to provide a semblance of stability and security between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
Tyler was fatally struck in a shootout with Gabriel Matthew Wilson after responding to assist fellow law enforcement officers with a hostage situation at a home in Rankin County in June 2023. Wilson also died at the scene.
“We would give back all the gifts we received in a heartbeat to have our life as it was on May 31, 2023,” Tui Tyler, Randy’s widowed wife, said. “But we are so grateful to Tunnel to Towers for helping us stay in the home that Randy worked so hard on. He never wanted to move again and this foundation ensures that we can stay put like Randy wanted.”
Before working at Madison, Officer Tyler served with the Ridgeland Police Department beginning in 1987 and worked his way up to the role of police chief. He was also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and was an active member of the Mississippi Chapter of the F.B.I. National Academy Associates.
In 2016, he joined the Madison Police Department’s special response team and was the department’s field training coordinator, in charge of the training and career development of newly hired police officers.
“He took everyone under his wing. He was always a phone call away and there was never any doubt he had your back. The way he treats people is something I have tried to carry over into what I do,” Assistant Madison Police Chief Robert Sanders said.
Through the Fallen First Responder Home Program, Tunnel to Towers aims to pay off the mortgages of law enforcement officers and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty, or to 9/11-related illnesses, and leave behind young children.
In addition to helping Tyler, the organization recently gifted a mortgage-free smart home to a former Hinds County detective who was injured in action.