Crime & Public Safety
How to attend memorial service, procession for slain Spalding deputy
Large crowd expected Friday to honor Marc McIntyre
A memorial service will be held Friday for Sgt. Marc McIntyre, a week after the Spalding County deputy was fatally shot while responding to a domestic incident.
By David Aaro
Jan 4, 2024Metro Atlanta residents and members of the law enforcement community from across the country are set to honor and remember Sgt. Marc Andrew McIntyre during his memorial service in Spalding County on Friday, a week after he was killed in the line of duty.
The veteran deputy, 55, known to his colleagues as “Mac,” was hit by a shotgun blast Dec. 29 while he and another deputy were responding to a disturbance at a home on Deason Street near Griffin.
The suspected shooter, Todd Lamont Harper, 57, was arrested and charged with murder after an hours-long standoff, the sheriff’s office said.
Here is more about the fallen deputy and what those looking to pay their respects can expect Friday.
- A procession will leave Atlanta Motor Speedway at 11:30 a.m. and proceed south on U.S. 41 toward Griffin. Law enforcement members are asked to arrive at the speedway around 10:30 a.m., sheriff’s office spokesman Dwayne Jones said. After traveling the 10-mile route (about a 10- to 15-minute drive), the procession will turn right onto Ga. 92/West McIntosh Road and end at Griffin First Assembly of God.
- The memorial service and visitation are both open to the public. The church has plenty of room for parking, but due to the expected large crowd, Jones recommended getting there early.
- Those looking to line the procession route can watch from any area outside of the road, according to the sheriff’s office. “I would just ask that they be courteous to any merchants and not block their parking areas,” Jones said.
- Visitation will start at 10:30 a.m. and continue until the 1 p.m. service. There will be no graveside service.
- Loved ones, friends and fellow Spalding deputies are expected to attend McIntyre’s service, as well as the Georgia State Patrol, which will be providing the Honor Guard, the sheriff’s office said.
- The native New Yorker’s reach extended outside of Georgia, with officers from the New York Police Department expected to attend. “We expect representatives from many in-state and out-of-state agencies,” Jones added.
- McIntyre was one of 123 officers in the country to die in the line of duty in 2023, and the fifth from Georgia, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page that tracks law enforcement deaths. He was the second Spalding deputy to die in the line of duty during the past 18 months and the fourth in the history of the sheriff’s office. He was the only one to be killed by gunfire. In July 2022, deputy Jamie Reynolds died after a large tree fell on his vehicle, killing him instantly.
- McIntyre started with the sheriff’s office in 2015. He also served in the U.S. Army for eight years and was previously deployed to Iraq, according to his obituary. To honor him, the United States and Georgia flags will be lowered to half-staff at the State Capitol building and in Spalding County on Friday, according to an executive order by Gov. Brian Kemp. They will be flown until sunset.
- Donations to help the deputy’s family are being accepted at any United Bank branch and should be made out to “In memory of Sgt. Marc McIntyre,” the sheriff’s office said.
- “Thank you for the many gestures of kindness, love and support you have shown for Marc’s loved ones, and also to the men and women of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Darrell Dix said.
- For those who can’t make the service in person, the church is offering a live stream here: https://griffinfirst.online.church/
— Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
