DeKalb Officer Killed At Traffic Stop Remembered As A Hero
A police honor guard carries DeKalb Police Officer Edgar Flores’ casket into All Saints Catholic Church for a funeral service Tuesday in Dunwoody. Flores was shot and killed after making a traffic stop in Decatur last week.
John Bazemore / Associated Press
Family, friends and law enforcement from around the country paid their respects Tuesday to a Georgia police officer slain after a traffic stop.
News outlets report hundreds of people lined the highways as the procession traveled through DeKalb County to the All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody, where the first of two services was held for DeKalb County Police Officer Edgar Flores.
The 24-year-old officer was shot in the head while in pursuit of a man he had pulled over. The suspect, 33-year-old Justin Taylor, was later shot and killed by officers after a brief manhunt.
Flores, who would have turned 25 on Tuesday, was remembered as a hero.
His 15-year-old brother, Alexis Flores, called him his role model and someone who “fought for equality.”
South Precinct Commander Maj. KD Johnson told mourners who packed the church that he had talked to the teenager a few days earlier.
“He said he wants to be a police officer, and he wants to wear his brother’s badge,” Johnson said.
Others described Flores as a natural-born officer, selfless, always smiling, a brother.
“Flores always, always talked about his family,” said fellow DeKalb officer Justin Hamilton, fighting back tears. “That was his thing.”
Flores, who was engaged to be married, was the third police officer in Georgia killed by gunfire in 2018 and the fifth to die overall in the line of duty.
DeKalb’s police chief, James Conroy, said the show of support from law enforcement all over the country helps them cope with the tragic loss.
“The community support, the folks lining the roadways for the procession to come in here. And the law enforcement community, there’s no other community like that. We are a family. We’ve got honor guards here from as far away as Dallas, Boston. Chicago is here, and Chicago tragically lost two last night in an incident. Yet here they are to support us,” Conroy said.
Gov.-elect Brian Kemp also attended the funeral.
A second service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch.
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