The Colquitt County Color Guard prepares to lay the wreath at the Fallen Officers Memorial at the square.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Law enforcement officers from Moultrie, Berlin and Colquitt County agencies gathered at 10 a.m. Friday to remember their fellow officers who died in the line of duty.

Six officers with Colquitt County ties are listed on the county’s Fallen Officers Memorial on the Courthouse Square:

• Doerun police officer Lawrence M. O’Neal, who was shot and killed on April 7, 1959.

• Moultrie police officer Roy Edward James, 36, who was shot and killed on Aug. 13, 1960.

• Georgia Department of Revenue Agent Daniel J. Hancock 52, who was killed in a car accident in Dougherty County on May 17, 1962. Hancock was a Moultrie resident at the time of the accident.

• Moultrie Police Lt. Thomas Jackson Meredith, 61, who was shot and killed on Aug. 25, 1973.

• Colquitt County sheriff’s deputy Tony Reed Wilder, 43, who was shot and killed on Jan. 31, 1986.

The last officer on the list was actually the first to die. Moultrie police officer Julian Palmer was pursuing two drivers who were racing near North Main Street in 1934. Another car pulled into the path of his motorcycle, he crashed, and his sidearm discharged. He died from the bullet wound the next day. 

The incident had been forgotten until 2017 when reporting of it was discovered, and his name was added to the monument in January 2018.

Friday’s memorial included a reading of the names of the fallen officers.

The event was conducted with an emphasis on social distancing due to coronavirus concerns. Only city and county officials were invited, although no one who showed up was turned away.