AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of people paid their last respects during a funeral and burial Sunday for a Georgia police officer shot and killed with his best friend and fellow officer last week.
AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of people paid their last respects during a funeral and burial Sunday for a Georgia police officer shot and killed with his best friend and fellow officer last week.
A horse-drawn carriage carried the body of Americus police officer Nicholas Smarr, 25, his casket draped with the American flag and led by an honor guard. Mourners lined the route of the procession, somberly waving flags as some wiped away tears.
Smarr and Jody Smith, a 26-year-old officer with Georgia Southwestern State University, were shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call Wednesday in Americus in south Georgia. Authorities said the suspected shooter died Thursday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a manhunt.
Americus Police Chief Mark Scott spoke at Sunday’s funeral. He said that even after Smarr was shot, he performed CPR on his wounded friend. Smarr died at the scene, and Smith a day later at a hospital.
George Saratsiotis, proprietor of an area shop, said the two officers were regular customers of his.
He said the close-knit Georgia community has been shocked by the slayings.