GRIFFIN, Ga. — The Georgia State Patrol is mourning the loss of a second trooper in just three weeks. Both of the troopers were from Troop C and were killed in the line of duty.
Trooper First Class Chase Redner died early Tuesday morning after being hit on I-75 in Clayton County while investigating a construction worker who was hit and killed in a work zone.
It was 23 days earlier, on Jan. 28, 2024, Trooper Jimmy Cenescar was killed following a crash on I-85 in Gwinnett County. DPS said Trooper Cenescar was pursuing a motorcycle at the time of the crash.
As the news spread on Tuesday morning regarding the loss of TFC Redner, law enforcement agencies from around the state began to post their condolences on social media.
For some agencies, like the Spalding County Sheriff's Office, it brings back a range of emotions. Spalding County Deputy Marc McIntyre was shot and killed in the line of duty on Dec. 29 while responding to a welfare check.
"It’s so fresh, it almost feels like somebody has ripped the bandage off the wound," Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said.
Sheriff Dix said he knows the pain and heartbreak the troopers and officers who witnessed TFC Redner being hit are experiencing.
"It is shocking when it happens right in front of you," Sheriff Dix explained.
He said he'd seen the effects it's had on his own deputies, who were there when Deputy McIntyre was shot.
"It affects a lot of officers, you know, for a very long time," he said.
Sheriff Dix said when he learned of TFC Redner's death, it instantly took him back to that Friday morning when he got the call of Deputy McIntyre being shot.
"You feel it, and it does affect you because that is a family that is now going through what we went through as an agency," Sheriff Dix said.
He also knows what TFC Redner's troop is going through along with everyone at GSP.
Sheriff Dix said while it may take some time to understand, there's some comfort in knowing these heroes died doing what they love.
"That trooper even though I didn't know him personally, was called to do a job," he explained.
Sheriff Dix added, "And he (TFC Redner) died doing what his calling was, and you feel it."
He said his department would be there in any way it could for GSP.
"There were troopers from all over that came to the actual scene when deputy McIntyre was shot; they helped escort his body to the crime lab," Sheriff Dix said. "Georgia State Patrol was there."
A tight-knit family tied together by a badge each and every one of them places on their hearts each day they show up for work.
Sheriff Dix hopes TFC Redner's legacy, just like Deputy McIntyre and all other law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, is defined by the men and women they were before their last call.
"They don't need to be remembered because of one event; they need to be remembered because of what they meant to the community and what they meant to their families," he said.
Sheriff Dix also made a point to keep the dispatchers of GSP in one's thoughts and prayers.
"They are listening to this unfold on the radio; they hear it, and they can't get to those officers," he explained.
Sheriff Dix said it's those dispatchers who must keep their composure and relay everything possible to make sure help gets to those officers. While they're a vital part of every department, sometimes they don't get the recognition they deserve.