Major Tommy Bradford of the Dade County Sheriff's Office racked up yet another kudo from his loving hometown as the Trenton-Dade Optimist Club and Georgia Fraternal Order of Police named him Officer of the Year at Tuesday's annual Law Appreciation Day ceremony in Trenton.
(Photo: Maj. Tommy showed up in shorts and a shy smile to accept his award on Tuesday. Also depicted are Carlton Stallings of the Fraternal Order of Police and Connie Webb of Trenton-Dade Optimists. Below right: Sheriff Cross speaks.)
At the May 7 event, both Dade Sheriff Ray Cross and Carlton Stallings of the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police retold the harrowing events of Aug. 7, 2018, that led to Maj. Tommy's loss of a leg while he was laying spike strips on Highway 11 during a high-speed police chase out of Fort Payne, Ala. From witness accounts at the time, the fleeing driver deliberately swerved to mow Maj. Tommy down. "When I got to the scene, I didn't know if Tommy was going to make it," said the sheriff.
(That driver has since negotiated a guilty plea rather than stand trial.)
The Optimists' Connie Webb, who with FOP's Carlton Stallings emceed the May 7 proceedings, explained that "Respect for Law" is one of the club's major programs, and police officers in general are honored on Dade's Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, now in its 14th year. But this is a local celebration and it focuses first on Dade and secondly on Georgia cops--the roll call of the fallen that features in the ceremony is for officers who died in the line of duty across Georgia. This year, though, organizers also invited the officers from Fort Payne, Alabama, who figured in what happened on that fateful summer day so they, too, could be honored.
Besides Maj. Bradford of the Dade Sheriff's Office, officers from five other local law enforcement agencies were nominated by their peers to be honored on Tuesday, and all received plaque, praise and plenty of pomp.
The top cops honored this year from our area were, from left: Georgia State Patrol Trooper Joe Geddie (who won top honors last year). He is not pictured here as he did not attend--Trooper Chris Harris accepted the award from him. Continuing rightward are the Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division's GWFC Roger McConkey; Major Tommy Bradford of the Dade County Sheriff's Office and Officer of the Year; Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Daniel Nicholson; Motor Carriers Compliance Division MCO3 John Crumbley; and Trenton PD Officer Mike Coleman accepting award for Officer Eric Hartline, who was out sick.
An opening statement was read by Lookout Mountain District Attorney Buzz Franklin, who made a point of saying the media is hostile to law enforcement. Georgia Sen. Jeff Mullis was scheduled to speak but did a no-show, and his place was taken by Dade County Executive Ted "the Boss" Rumley (left), who told an anecdote about Dade's first game warden irritating locals by insisting it was illegal to fish with dynamite, and furthermore not letting them keep the fish. Trenton Mayor Alex Case (right) read a joint county/city proclamation honoring cops.
The schools also pitched in. The Dade County School Marching Band played, conducted by Chris Chance, who performed "Taps"; the DCHS Chorus sang; Dade Elementary School student Amelia Anderson (pictured at right with two companions holding banners) gave a brief speech thanking school resource officers (SROs) for making kids feel secure in class; and Dade Middle Schoolers carried roses and presented plaques. Dr. Brad Scott led prayers and the opening invocation.
As always, the Georgia State Patrol Honor Guard opened the ceremonies with impressive solemnities, notable among which was the compelling bagpipe music of Dan Bray in full kilted regalia.
Here, for those who missed the ceremony--and as The Planet's humble way of honoring law enforcement--is the roll call of those Georgia officers who died in the line of duty in the past year:
Officer Chase Lee Maddox of the Locus Grove PD, Feb. 9, 2018, of gunfire; Officer Anthony Christie of the Savannah Metropolitan PD, May 25, 2018, from a vehicular accident; Agent David James LeValley of the Atlanta FBI office, May 26, 2018, of cancer incurred from 9/11/01; Chief of Police Frank McClelland of the Ludowici PD, Sept. 15, 2018, of an accident during a car chase; Officer Antwan DeArvis Toney of the Gwinnett County PD, Oct. 20, 2018, of
gunfire; Officer Edgar Isidro Flores, DeKalb County PD, Dec. 13, 2018, of gunfire; and Officer Michael Wayne Smith, Henry County PD, Dec. 28, 2018, of gunfire.
Connie Webb also made a special mention of the Dade Sheriff's Office K-9 officer Rocco, who was seriously injured when he jumped from his malfunctioning police cruiser compartment near Christmas. Rocco is fully recovered and back on duty now, said Ms. Webb.
