Titans Honor Fallen Police Officer
Mike Keith, the long-time play-by-play voice of the Tennessee Titans, was among those who paid tribute to a fallen police officer at a public service Wednesday afternoon.
Destin Legieza, a Middle Tennessee native and five-year veteran of the Brentwood (Tenn.) police department, died as a result of injuries sustained in a head-on collision last Thursday morning. The driver of the other vehicle was charged with vehicular homicide after tests determined that her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
The 30-year-old Legieza is the first member of the Brentwood Police Department to die in the line of duty.
The third-generation officer who grew up in neighboring Franklin, Tenn. was remembered as – among other things – an ardent fan of Nashville’s professional sports teams, the Titans and Nashville Predators (NHL). His support for the Titans, in particular, occupied a great deal of his time and energy away from the job.
Here is the full text of Keith’s comments:
When the Tennessee Titans arrived here 20-plus years ago, our goal was to build a fan base from the ground up, a fan base for the long-term. That meant we wanted to get youngsters to jump immediately on board and become Titans for life. In the case of Destin Legieza, we clearly succeeded.
He started attending our games when we played at Vanderbilt [in 1998]. He was nine. And from the days of Steve [McNair] and Eddie [George] to today, Destin was with us every step of the way. He was a season ticket member at Nissan Stadium. He attended our Monday Night Football game at Dallas [in 2018], our game in London [in 2018], our [2019] playoff games in Baltimore and Kansas City. He attended watch parties. Stood in line at Titans Caravan events. He would finish a shift at 6 a.m. and head straight over to St. Thomas Sports Park to catch the morning training camp practice.
You’ve heard: His dog’s name is Titan; he drove a Titan. His man cave is said to rank among the best of any Titans fan.
Man, this guy – Destin Legieza – was exactly what we dreamed of in the late 1990s, someone who would follow the Tennessee Titans with passion.
But as we’ve heard, read and seen things about Destin over the past few days, it’s clear the Tennessee Titans were not the only thing that he was passionate about. He was passionate about his family and his friends. He was passionate about Williamson County. He was passionate about law enforcement, his fellow officers and about being an outstanding police officer. He was passionate about serving people, about helping people.
Clearly, Destin lived his life with passion and that’s what made him so special to so many people. He brought it every single day in every single thing that he did.
To the family, friends and to all of his colleagues, who work each day to protect and serve all of us, the thoughts and prayers of the men and women of the Titans organization are with you.
Often times, we hear from people that the Titans are their heroes. And we certainly understand and appreciate that – they are special people. But to us, Destin Legieza was a true hero, not because he was a massive Titans fan but because he lived a life of love, a life of service and a life of passion. Those are the things that heroes are made of.
We are proud that Destin’s love of the Tennessee Titans is a part of his story important enough to be shared today. And I am honored that those who love him asked me to speak, specifically to end with two words that always brought a massive smile to Destin’s face, that in a moment could bring out all the passion that defined him.
Destin, they know you’re here and they sure did love you. So, for you from your team, the Tennessee Titans, from one Williamson County boy to another – Touchdown Titans!
