Storms damages law enforcement officer memorial in Snellville

SNELLVILLE, Ga. — Along Pinehurst Road in Snellville Thursday, there was some storm damage. For Bobby Howard it was personal.

Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen was at the memorial for Channel 2 Action News at 4 p.m.

“A lot of times it just hurts. There’s a pain that I know a family or a department are feeling,” Bobby said.

Howard is a former city council member in town. It’s a memorial he built in his yard that honors law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. It went up in 2016, shortly after 5 officers were ambushed by a sniper in Dallas, Texas. It features a pair of blue lights like the lights on a patrol car. When an officer loses their life as the protect and serve, Bobby turns the memorial lights on, They then stay on for 48 hours as a sign of respect.

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They were on in October of 2018 when Gwinnett County Police Officer Antwan Toney was killed in the line of duty. The gust of wind that damaged the memorial Wednesday night blew over the sign, but Bobby says the blue lights stayed on.

“There’s been more than 2,000 who I have honored since the sign went up in September of 2016. Over 2-thousand who I’ve had the lights on for,” Bobby said.

Several of Howard’s friends have already offered to help make repairs.

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