For the 2020 officers, I met them in 2021. We lost one of our policemen, and my wife was a sergeant with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Richard Roberts, a native of Franklin County, had the notion to join Beyond the Call of Duty, a nonprofit group that honors law enforcement personnel died while performing their duties, because of this.
Every two years, the group hosts the End of Watch Ride to Remember, which features a truck trailer with pictures of fallen cops. On Wednesday, July 2, the motorcyclists positioned the mobile memorial outside the Habersham County Courthouse.
Raising awareness and money
Roberts has taken part in two rides at the End of Watch. He claimed that in order to raise publicity for upcoming tours, they took the trailer to Habersham this year. Every police agency around the nation where an officer was killed in the previous year has the trailer on display.Austin Martin, Wesley Addis, and Major Tyler Moss, deputies from Habersham County, watch the trailer for the End of Watch memorial. Mullis, Chaz./NowHabersham.com
According to him, during the 2022 trip, 608 policemen were on display on this memorial. To get that many on there, it required both sides of the trailer. We suffered as a result.
Law enforcement officials and members of the public visited this year’s trailer in Habersham on Wednesday, which featured images of 299 policemen who passed away in 2023 (135) and 2024 (164).
Roberts offered raffle tickets for a chance to win a motorcycle and commemorative t-shirts in addition to the trailer. According to him, the money raised will support scholarships for young individuals who have lost a family member in law enforcement and want to continue their studies. Additionally, the fundraiser assists in paying for counseling for bereaved family members and wellness retreats.
In May of last year, we traveled to Alaska. According to Roberts, we took seven survivors along and gave them a halibut fishing excursion.
North Georgia ties
Twelve North Georgia officers have been featured on the End of Watch trailer since 2018. Wendy McNair’s husband, who came to the memorial on Wednesday, was one of those cops.
On July 20, 2020, her husband, Lt. Brian McNair, died from COVID-19 after being exposed to three positive detainees at the Hall County Jail. Prior to this, McNair worked for the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office.
“I think it’s fantastic that they pay tribute to all the officers who lost their lives while performing their duties,” she added. The men’s compensation is inadequate for their work.
True cost of public service
When local officers visited the memorial, Roberts handed them challenge coins. One side of the coin had the organization’s logo. The Bible text Matthew 5:9 was wrapped around the edge of the knight depicted on the opposite side.Every officer receives an End of Watch challenge coin from Richard Roberts. Mullis, Chaz./NowHabersham.com
One of the people who got a coin was Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Captain Tommy McElroy. He remembered two officers he knew who were slain in the line of duty as he stood by the memorial, looking at the names and pictures of his fallen peers.
I know Hugo Arango, an officer who was slain in Doraville in 2000. According to McElroy, Shane Wilson, who was also from Doraville, was killed in a car accident approximately ten years ago.
This moving monument has a clear function for officers like McElroy and their families, like as the McNairs: to preserve the names and lives of dead cops. It helps others comprehend the true cost of public service and gives them a place to think and recall.
June 1, 2026, will mark the start of the next End of Watch tour. Go to endofwatchride.com to learn more about the tour and the company.
