Deputy Brian Lamar Mahaffey was brutally gunned down last Saturday doing his duty by a man named Terry Brown hiding behind a closed closet door.

Mahaffey was just barely 28 years old and had a wife and two young children. By all accounts, Mahaffey was a devoted husband, loving father, good officer, avid fisherman and fun loving-friend.

But in one moment, Brown, through his own personal selfishness, tore apart not just his life and Mahaffey’s, but the lives of everyone around them with a shot that freakishly found a spot past the safety vest that Deputy Mahaffey wore.

Deputy Brian Lamar Mahaffey is and was a hero. Not just because he gave the ultimate sacrifice, but because he did his job as a deputy day after day, knowing that was the risk he was taking.

We, like others, will not take for granted the works of all of our law enforcement officers; these ladies and gentlemen put their lives on the line to insure our safety. It is because of them we can sleep in our beds at night.

We will always be grateful for his and his family’s sacrifice and promise to never forget it.

We mourn the senseless and sudden death of Deputy Brian Lamar Mahaffey, but through faith we know he is in a good and safe place now and his legacy will live on.

We mourn even more for his young family and for the difficult road they have ahead of them.

We know the good people of this community will rally around them. And we would expect nothing less of such an extraordinary place such as Rockdale. We as a community should guarantee that the deputy’s family wants for nothing in the upcoming years.

For all of our law enforcement officers, we pray that our good Lord will keep his hand firmly on each of you and your families. We thank you for every minute we are kept safe here in our beautiful Rockdale County by your efforts.