Retired Athens police officer dies after monthlong COVID-19 battle

Retired officer Richard Odum, a 24-year veteran of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, has died after a battle with COVID-19, officials announced Thursday. He was 57.

Odum was admitted to the hospital Jan. 3 with a high fever, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his son, Austin Odum. Despite having no preexisting conditions other than high blood pressure, the elder Odum was intubated the following day, the fundraising page said.

Austin Odum wrote that his family was “horrified” when his father was diagnosed with severe COVID-19 and pneumonia and had to be placed on a ventilator in a medical coma. His family rushed to the hospital several times when his father’s vital signs dropped, he wrote.

Richard Odum died Wednesday after spending 35 days on a ventilator, less than a day after his son created the fundraiser to help pay for his long-term care.

After 33 years in law enforcement, Odum retired in December 2018, according to his LinkedIn page. He reached the rank of lieutenant with the ACCPD and was the commanding officer of the department’s Office of Professional Standards before his retirement.

“Lt. Odum had a passion for teaching, mentoring many officers at the department,” the ACCPD said in a Facebook post. “Upon retirement, he began teaching again, and his last post was as a police academy instructor at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.”

“My Dad is my hero and a champion for my family. He has shown strength and resiliency through continuously fighting this disease through every setback,” Odum’s son wrote on GoFundMe.

Odum is survived by his wife, Connie, and two sons, Austin and Eric. He is the 19th law enforcement officer to die from COVID-19 in Georgia, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.