‘God needed him for another mission’ A-B Tech officer honored during celebration of life
By Taylor Thompson
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Asheville community is continuing to mourn the loss of well-known law enforcement officer, 31-year-old Jamil Hawes.
On Sunday, many of Hawes’ family and loved ones gathered at the Asheville High Auditorium to celebrate the life that Hawes lived.
Hawes had served as a police officer at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-B Tech) since 2020.
On May 8, he was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash.
One of Hawes’ lifelong friends, Brandon Whiteside, said that he’s known Hawes since they were six years old. He said that they went through school together and always stayed connected after that.
Whiteside described Hawes as a warm and welcoming person.
“He would literally give you the shirt off of his back, but he’d also be willing to call you out and hold you accountable,” he said.
He said that Hawes was the type of person to always want a lot of people to know that he cared about them. Whiteside described Hawes in three words: caring, a beast and most importantly legendary.
“That’s who he is, he’s just a legend, he’s such a legend,” Whiteside expressed. “I don’t even think he realized how much of a legend he really was.”
He explained how Hawes’ hilarious nature will always be one of his greatest memories of him.
“He just lived a life full of happiness,” he expressed.
Hawes’ cousin, Forest Weaver, described him as the guy you would want your daughter to marry. He explained how special of a person Hawes was– especially his smile and voice.
A former student athlete at Asheville High, Weaver said he was just a big teddy bear until he got on the football field.
“He’s just a sweet, kind, loving person,” Weaver said. “He’s the kind of person that if someone’s daughter brought him home, they would be so proud.”
Hawes leaves behind his wife of one year, Courtney, and his seven-year-old son Mahki. Weaver said that watching Hawes grow up, it was clear that the thing he loved the most was his family.
“He’s brought so much to our family, just the way he treated people,” Weaver said.
While they’re trying to be strong, Weaver said this is the lowest their family has ever felt. He described it as a bad dream that none of them are able to wake up from.
While it’s hard to find the words, Weaver said he knows that Hawes is at peace.
“He was just here for a short while,” he said. “God let us have him for a little while but as his father said, God needed him for another mission.”
“I love the guy, I love him a lot, this one really hurts,” Whiteside said.
Weaver said what has been getting them through is the outpouring of love they’ve felt from their community. He explained how they’ve simply shown up and been there, which is exactly what they’re in need of right now.
A GoFundMe has been created to help Hawes’ family survive this unexpected loss. Click the link to learn more about how you can help out: gofundme.com/f/jamil-hawes-memorial-fund
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