Slain Polk Co. officer remembered as protector
On the day before she was gunned down by a Walker County man with a long rap sheet, Polk County Police Det. Kristen Hearne pondered her own mortality.
Talking with her mother last Thursday afternoon, Hearne, 29, made her promise she’d help take care of her 3-year-old son Isaac if anything ever happened to her.
“I said ‘Kristen, don’t talk this junk to me,’” Hearne’s mother, Trish Brewer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s nobody who could replace you.’’
That night, Hearne and her husband, a lieutenant with the Aragon Police Department, also discussed the future.
“While Isaac was playing at the park we had a long discussion about finding another job outside of law enforcement,” Matt Hearne told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The thought of (Isaac) being without one parent, or both … that was constantly in her mind when she went to work.”
Their worst fears realized, Hearne’s family knows they must stay strong for Isaac.
That won't be easy, as they told the AJC over the weekend. Visit myAJC.com for the complete story of a woman who made a difference, gone too soon.
About the Author
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
