Sons, daughters, grandchildren and fellow law enforcement officers gathered Monday to honor those who gave their lives to serve and protect the residents of their towns and cities, and a former Oxford police chief was included in the ceremony.

The annual Georgia Public Safety Memorial Ceremony honored the police officers and other law enforcement officials who have been killed in the line of duty throughout the state at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth Monday morning.

Governor Nathan Deal gave the keynote address and presented each family of a fallen officer a framed plaque containing a medal of memorial and a proclamation of honor. Each officer’s name was inscribed in the memorial wall, which was erected in 1997 at the training center.

“I think it was very nice the way they had it,” said Ransom Peters, the son of Charlie Hughlon Peters, the Oxford police chief who was killed while on a call in 1969.

Hughlon Peters succumbed to injuries in July of 1969 that he had suffered in March. He was 57 years old when he was shot twice by a man who was the cause of a domestic dispute 911 call. The man was shot and killed on-site.

The former police chief was a native of Walton County, and he served as Social Circle Police Chief for eight years before moving to Oxford to become Town Marshal in 1964.

An article from The News in 1969 said he was an active member of the Oxford Fire Department and Lions Club and that he enjoyed hunting and fishing.

Ransom Peters, who lives in Monroe, attended the memorial ceremony with his brother, Donald Peters, his sister-in-law, his sister, Peggy Peters, his wife, Gene Peters, and his daughter, Melissa Peters. Donald Peters and his wife traveled from North Carolina for the event.

Current Oxford Police Chief Dave Harvey and Lt. James Pilgrim represented the City of Oxford.

“It turned out good,” Harvey said. “It was good way of honoring those giving the ultimate sacrifice and appreciation of law enforcement and those who serve.”