COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A new mural has been installed honoring two Cobb County deputies who were killed in the line of duty last year.
Marshall Ervin Jr. and Jonathan Koleski were shot and killed while serving a warrant a year ago on Sept. 8.
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Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was at Marietta Square Friday, where it was a tough day for the officers’ families and fellow law-enforcement officers.
Since the tragedy, hundreds, if not thousands of people from not only the law enforcement community but from neighborhoods across the metro Atlanta area have been finding creative and special ways to honor the memories of these two fallen deputies.
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The mural in Marietta Square is a perfect example. On Friday morning, Channel 2 Action News was invited to a private memorial where Seiden witnessed a very moving memorial service.
“Today is a special day for us to begin some remembrance of our fallen heroes,” Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens said. “Two great family men. They stood strong. They stood proud and they stood for us.”
Owens said it’s been a long year and a lot of his officers are still grieving. But despite the pain, he said he couldn’t be prouder of his deputies and staff, who have found purpose in the face of tragedy.
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“I think what I can tell you about this is it has brought us closer together as an organization,” Owens said.
Owens delivered heartfelt remarks just moments before the unveiling of a mural, which honored Ervin and Koleski’s lives.
The two men were ambushed while trying to serve a warrant in the county’s Hampton Glen subdivision.
“I just felt like we needed to do something to recognize them here at the adult detention center,” Owens said. “I wanted to put something in place that would never be taken down folded up and placed in a closet somewhere to be forgotten”
Ervin and Koleski both started their careers at the jail, where they worked hard and earned the respect of their colleagues. They were remembered as good family men who proudly wore the badge.
The memorial was closed to the public.
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