By Mitch Talley
Family and colleagues gathered on May 13 to remember three fallen officers of the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, with the unveiling of a stone monument outside the correctional center.
“This is a very special day for us, something we’ve been wanting to do – I hate to admit it – for about 20 years,” Sheriff Scott Chitwood said.
The names of Deputy Durwin William Potts, Lt. John William McKinney, and Honorary Deputy Gabriel “Tater” Singleton are inscribed on the monument, which was unveiled during National Police Week. (May 15 was Peace Officers Memorial Day.)
“We’re just honored to be here and be a part of this,” McKinney’s widow Doris said after the ceremony. “Scott Chitwood and all the officers have really just been wonderful to us. It’ll be almost 14 years this December for John, and they’ve stayed in contact with us and walked us through this whole thing. We’re eternally honored and grateful.”
Ironically, the memorial turned out to be the last assignment for another local lawman, Lt. Fran Rice, who died from cancer last June but not before he had spearheaded the project.
“I am thankful for the honor of standing with you today to dedicate this beautiful monument,” said Roger Parker, president of the Georgia chapter of COPS (Concerns of Police Officers). “It’s most appropriate that Sheriff Chitwood chose this date to actually unveil this monument to forever memorialize these officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.”
Parker – who lost his own nephew, a lawman in Cobb County, in 1993 – said each year the nation loses between 140 to 160 officers and Georgia loses an average of seven officers in the line of duty.
“The purpose of this memorial is to ensure that these Whitfield County officers that lost their lives in the line of duty will forever be remembered and stand as a testament for years to come,” he said. “Let me encourage each of you to express your appreciation often and sincerely to those officers that serve and protect your community from crime and danger. We trust that you will enjoy and appreciate this memorial and always remember our fallen and embrace their surviving family members. As time goes by, we must never forget those heroes that gave so much to their communities.”
Parker asked officers at the ceremony to remain “ever vigilant” in performing their duties and “not be indifferent to ensure that no other officers are added to this hallowed monument.”
“To our officers still serving, we say thank you so often that goes unsaid,” he said. “We owe a debt of gratitude to all our law enforcement officers who put on the badge and the uniform each day to protect the lives, the freedom, and the property of the citizens they serve.”
The monument was personal for Carlton Stallings, who started his law enforcement career in Whitfield County in 1971, retired from the Georgia State Patrol, and currently serves on the state board of the Fraternal Order of Police and as a trustee on the national FOP board.
“These are more than just names on a monument to me. These are my friends, and these were my colleagues. I knew them – I worked with them,” said Stallings, who actually investigated the traffic accident that wound up taking the life of Deputy Potts in 1996.
“We can never repay these officers or these families for their sacrifice,” Stallings said. “What we can do, we can acknowledge the debt. That’s what you’re doing here today. You’re acknowledging the debt we owe these officers for what they’ve done in the past. My prayer to you is these names will be the last to go on this monument.”
The 30-year-old Potts served with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office for nine years, wearing badge number 171, and his end of watch was Dec. 21, 1996.
As he was traveling down Highway 71 near Waring Road, Potts swerved to miss a car that turned in front of him, hit a curb, and rolled over. “He was up walking around at the scene answering questions,” Chitwood said. “Trooper Stallings was there working the accident. But due to the fact of the rollover, they took him to Hamilton Medical Center for observation overnight. Unfortunately, he started having a brain bleed and swelling, and he passed away within about 24 hours of the accident.”
In 2017, through the work of Rep. Bruce Broadrick and Roger Williams of the state Department of Transportation board, the legislature approved renaming the intersection where the accident occurred in memory of Deputy Potts. His name is also on the Peace Officer Memorial Wall in Forsyth and the Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
McKinney, 57, worked with the Dalton Police Department for seven years before working another 21 years with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office. He wore badge number 47, and his end of watch was Dec. 6, 2006.
After enjoying the annual Whitfield County Employee Recognition Luncheon and going with colleagues for a firearms class at the sheriff’s office training facility on Prater’s Mill Road, McKinney suffered a massive heart attack in his patrol car on Old Prater’s Mill Road. He is honored with a memorial sign on that road, and his name is also on the state and national Memorial Walls.
“Some of the young officers don’t remember Durwin and John,” the sheriff said, “but I think everybody here remembers Deputy Tater. He came into our lives due to a relationship with Deputy Shawn Giles. Whenever Shawn came to me and told me about Tater’s story, I embraced the idea, but what I was pleased with is the entire department embraced the idea to adopt this little fellow. We made him a class A uniform, and he would come in and ride with Shawn.”
Like Fran Rice, the 7-year-old Tater had his good days and bad days while battling cancer, “but on those good days, he was here and he displayed a spirit and a smile that every one of us embraced,” Chitwood said. “What started as a program that we wanted to touch his life, backfired because he touched our lives. Due to the circumstances with Tater, we felt like it was appropriate to recognize him on this monument.”
Several months after his death on July 30, 2016, an officer with the Dalton Police Department who was helping with a statewide program arranged for a memorial tree to be planted on the grounds of the sheriff’s office in Tater’s honor.
Speaking about the monument, Tater’s mother, Lulu, said it’s “absolutely amazing, especially them remembering our son. Tater, he loved you guys. He loved being here, and seeing his name up there is just an honor. He loved this place – I wish he had more time here.”