Hundreds of law enforcement officers joined family and friends to pay final respects Monday to Columbia County Deputy Brandon R. Sikes, who was killed in the line of duty April 26.
Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle spoke at the service of the brave sacrifices law enforcement officers make every day as they face unknown threats, such as the gunman who killed Sikes.
“It today’s society, unfortunately, it should be expected,” Whittle said. “Yet knowing this, they put on a uniform, a badge and a gun and head out the door of their homes, away from loved ones, to face what others will not.”
Sikes, a former Army combat medic, was gunned down during a traffic stop on I-20, where he and Deputy Gavin White were serving a protective order on a mentally-ill man who had pipe bombs in his motor home. White was shot in the face, but is slowly recovering.
Whittle, reading from another officer’s memorial post, said the sheriff’s office will be there to support Sikes’ widow, Amber Sikes, who also works for the sheriff’s office.
In addition to facing unforeseen dangers every day, officers also face constant scrutiny of the public, Whittle said. No officer starts a day wanting to draw his gun. Instead they face the unthinkable – a dead abused child, car wrecks with mangled bodies, bitter fights between divorcing couples, he said.
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And yet, they “still come to work with a smile on your face ready to give your life for an innocent,” Whittle said.
Pastor John Kenney of Quest Church asked all those in law enforcement to stand.
“I just feel like the law enforcement community right now needs to know we love you; we support you,” he said.
Sikes was “a great, but very humble man who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect this community to make this community safer,” he said.
Many ask the question, “why” does something like Sikes’ death have to occur, Kenney said.
Desire to serve and protect
Thomas DeChant, one of Sikes’ three brothers, spoke about him being the youngest and his desire to help and protect others.
When Sikes learned he was going to be a father, he joined the Army. Test scores qualified him for nearly any position, but Sikes chose to be a combat medic, DeChant said.
Sikes said, “I get to help people who can’t help themselves,” his brother said. He also “knew that Amber and Lyndsey would be taken care of.”
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When Sikes joined the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office in 2018, his explanation was, “What better way to protect my wife and daughter than to make the area around them safer?” DeChant said.
Mourners were shown a video containing dozens of pictures showing Sikes from his childhood to his time in the Army to scenes of him in nature, where he loved to be.
Family members seated across the theater’s front row, chose a song, “I am not okay,” by Jelly Roll to play at the service.
Officers show solidarity for fallen deputy
Uniforms filled a majority of the seats in Columbia County Performing Arts Center, where the service was held. Dozens of agencies, from Effingham County and Mount Pleasant, S.C., to Fort Eisenhower military police and school resource officers escorted Sikes’ casket, which was carried by a horse-drawn glass carriage, to the performing arts center.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources police were some of the numerous officers guarding doors and guiding crowds before the service.
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“We’re here totally to support our community,” said Capt. Lamar Burns, a game warden in Bibb County. “It’s always about support and solidarity for them.”
“We’re here to honor his service when he was a combat medic,” said Alan Boyce, president of the Washington-Wilkes County chapter of the U.S. Military Veterans. “Plus our kids are in law enforcement. We respect the profession.”
Larry Dawson, retired Army policeman with the Retired Military Police Association, said his association attended to show support.
“As a member of the Retired Military Police Association, it is our obligation to show solidarity to one of our fallen comrades,” Dawson said.
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Flyover honors fallen deputy
