A sheriff’s department vehicle was driven south to honor Deputy Brad Garafola, Corporal Montrell Jackson, and Officer Matthew Gerald, all of whom were shot and killed by a lone gunman on July 17th.
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Garafola’s family, friends and colleagues remembered him as a fearless man who was killed as he tried to help another.
Governor John Bel Edwards quoted scripture from the book of Joshua: “Be strong and courageous says the Lord”.
“Brad ran toward danger. he did so to save his fallen brother. he died a hero”, said East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreax III.
His brother-in-law, Jaye Cooper, said people called Garafola “the neighborhood husband” because he cut grass, caught snakes and did other chores for people in the community.
Seattle’s Honor Guard will be uniting with the Baton Rouge Police Department Honor Guard to participate in Jackson’s funeral as one large contingent. Garafola’s visitation was beginning at noon at a Baptist church that seats 1,500, with the funeral starting at 2 p.m. The next day a black man in Minnesota was shot and killed by police, and the man’s girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath of that shooting on Facebook.
Deputy Greg McLean described Garafola as a generous family man. The day after that, a black gunman in Dallas opened fire during a protest against the Minnesota and Baton Rouge shootings, and killed five police officers.
“My deputy went down fighting”, Gautreaux said.
He leaves behind a wife and four children: a 21-year-old son, a 15-year-old daughter, a 12-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter.
“It is a most noble profession, a profession of which you are often expected to remedy all societal ills and do so flawlessly with sometimes little respect and recognition”, said Casey Rayborn Hicks, public information officer for EBRSO.
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Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason warns that targeting police has happened before and he said the question is when and where it will happen again. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission. This includes the preparation of derivative works of, or the incorporation of such content into other works.
