USA  –  A Memphis Police Department officer is dead following a string of shootings near the city’s famed Beale Street, authorities said.

Officer Verdell Smith, 46, was struck by a suspect’s vehicle while trying to clear a crime scene last weekend, Memphis Police Department Director Mike Rallings told reporters. Smith was killed after two separate shootings Saturday night.  “I am angry this morning angry at the senseless loss of a dedicated public servant, and angry at the absolutely unacceptable level of violence in our city,” Mayor Jim Strickland said in a statement. “We must not accept this as our norm. I most certainly will not, and I will continue to act to make our city safer.”(CNN.COM/Photo: wgntv.com)…[+]