‘THANK YOU TO OUR PO-PO!’

            On Wednesday afternoon, our local law enforcement officers once again chose to put their lives on the line for us, the people of this county, as they began an intensive manhunt for the man suspected of committing a brutal double-murder last week in Dawnville. The deputies, police officers, and state troopers who were already on-shift didn’t get to go home when their regular day should have ended; and the ones that weren’t working had their days-off interrupted and were called in.

Now, make no mistake. It didn’t matter that they might have had something planned to do later on that day, like maybe celebrate an anniversary, a family member’s birthday, or just enjoy time at home with their children and loved ones. The call went out and they immediately responded. That’s just the kind of folks they are.

Upon arrival, they were deployed to different posts and assigned specific tasks. Officers and deputies, not only from our own county but from cities and counties all over North Georgia, responded, and with them they brought their specialties, too, like K-9 units, special response teams, and even the State Patrol’s helicopter.

Wearing long pants, boots, and body armor, tactical vests and gun belts with automatic weapons slung across their chests, they stomped through the brush and the briars in the sweltering heat, waded through mud holes and poison ivy, searched row upon row of waist-high cornfields, and trudged across dusty pastures in the blazing sun; they knocked on doors, cleared outbuildings, and checked under houses in nearby subdivisions. They manned roadblocks on shade-less stretches of hot asphalt searching hundreds of vehicles, and they responded to innumerable prowler calls in and around the search area all night long. And while this was going on in Varnell, a limited number of others were scrambling to cover the regular, every day calls all over the rest of the county.

Add to that the very real possibility that at any moment, any one of those involved could have suddenly come in contact with the man suspected of brutally murdering two people just days ago and be faced with a probable violent outcome that could change their own life in the blink of an eye.

Stop and think about it. You know these folks, these police officers, deputies, troopers, and detectives. They may be your friends, your family, or your neighbors. Their kids play ball with your kids, or you see ‘em at church on a Sunday mornin’. These are the men and women that protect us from the ‘bad guys’, 24/7, 365-days-a-year.

They’re the ones who never give up, which in-turn resulted in their having the suspect in-custody just under 24-hours later and with no loss of life… just a lot of lost sleep and sweat. To all of the members of local and state law enforcement in and around Whitfield County, I myself want to say ‘Thank you’… thank you for choosing each and every day to don a uniform and keep us safe. Your service does matter, guys, and you truly are appreciated.

- Barry D. Jennings

Cohutta, Georgia