Six Georgia law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in 2022. Eight officers were killed while serving in 2021.
One other officer has died this year from COVID-19 complications, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks deaths of law enforcement officers. A Fairburn officer was also killed in an off-duty crash and other officers died from medical conditions. And a Fulton County deputy was killed in an off-duty shooting.
In October, a Georgia State Patrol K-9 was shot to death while officers attempted to apprehend a murder suspect.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
March 30: Investigator Donald Richard Crooms with the Houston County District Attorney’s Office was killed in a car crash. An oncoming vehicle crossed the center line and struck Investigator Crooms’ vehicle head-on in Warner Robins, according to police.
Crooms, 56, had served in law enforcement for 36 years, according to his obituary. He had previously served with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. Crooms was married with five children.
Credit: Rockdale County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Rockdale County Sheriff's Office
May 11: Rockdale County Sheriff’s deputy Walter Jenkins died after being hit by a vehicle while directing traffic. Jenkins, 54, who was in uniform and wearing a reflective vest, was struck by a silver Kia Sportage driven by a 16-year-old girl around 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of Ga. 138 and Ga. 212, the Georgia State Patrol said in a statement.
Deputy Jenkins had served with the Rockdale sheriff’s office for about a year and previously served with the College Park Police Department for 22 years. He is survived by his mother and three children.
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
July 31: A Spalding County deputy died after a large pine tree fell on his vehicle while he was driving, the sheriff’s office announced.
Jamie Reynolds was traveling east on Ga. 16 just east of Shoal Creek Road around 5:30 a.m. when the tree crushed the passenger side of the vehicle, killing Reynolds instantly, Sheriff Darrell Dix said in a statement.
Reynolds began his law enforcement career in 1995 and joined the Spalding sheriff’s office last year, according to the department. His most recent assignment was in the Office of Professional Standards working with state certifications, national accreditations and grant writing. He also worked weekend shifts at the county jail.
Sept. 8: Two Cobb County deputies, Jonathan Randall Koleski and Marvin Samuel Irvin Jr., were killed while serving an arrest warrant, according to the sheriff’s office. Two suspects were arrested at the west Cobb home.
Both men were married and had been employed with the sheriff’s office for many years. Koleski had been with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office since his law enforcement career began in 2007. Ervin, a father of two, had been with the sheriff’s office since 2012.
On Dec. 8, Christopher Patrick Golden, 30, entered a negotiated guilty plea to the murders of the deputies. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Credit: Gwinnett County Department of Corrections
Credit: Gwinnett County Department of Corrections
Dec. 13: Scott Riner, 59, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Gwinnett County Comprehensive Correctional Complex as he arrived 40 minutes early for his 7 a.m. shift at the facility. His body was found lying near his vehicle in the parking lot.
Yahya Abdulkadir, 22, of Dacula was arrested two days later and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault, the Gwinnett County Police Department.
A few hundred loved ones, county officials and law enforcement officers packed into the sanctuary of Lawrenceville’s North Metro Baptist Church for his service,
