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‘It’ll buff:’ Family, mourners remember trooper killed in line of duty in Clayton County

By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV
By Bryan Mims, WSB-TV

CANTON, Ga. — Law enforcement officers came from across Georgia to bid their final farewell to a fallen state trooper.

Trooper First Class Chase Redner died on Feb. 20 when a driver hit him as he was investigating a deadly crash along I-75 in Clayton County. He was 31 years old.

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A long procession of police vehicles, with their blue lights flashing, streamed into Canton First Baptist Church in Cherokee County.

As Governor Brian Kemp looked on, pallbearers placed the flag-draped coffin onto a horse-drawn caisson. Bagpipes played as hundreds of officers stood in salute.

Mourners came from big-city police departments and rural South Georgia sheriff’s offices.

Among those who spoke during the service was Redner’s mother, Linda Stancil-Redner.

“Life gives us a lot of challenges,” she said through tears. “Never did I think that I’d be standing here with Chase not by my side to give me courage.”

Less than a month before the tragedy, Redner stood on a mountaintop in North Georgia and asked Leah Owens to be his wife. When he died, she said, “I was terrified. I was terrified of the days to come. I was terrified of facing the days without him.”

But she described feeling a sense of peace as she stood before the mourners, saying Chase was giving her comfort.

“Chase would always look at me and say ‘Boo boo, it’ll buff. It’s all gonna be okay,’” she said.

“It’ll buff.” That was Redner’s way of saying the scratches and wounds of life can always heal.

Colonel Billy Hitchens, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, described a man who savored hazelnut coffee, sweet-heat potato chips, and a fine cigar. But above all that, he said, Redner was “a beacon of courage, integrity and selflessness.”

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“Chase chose a job that requires a person to have a certain mental disposition, level of discipline, compassion, integrity, and dedication,” said Hitchens. “He was extremely proud to be a state trooper.”

The trooper’s family said he had a “servant’s heart,” which drove him to pursue a career as a state trooper.

“He refused to allow mediocrity to become his standard,” Hitchens said. “He led by example, exceeded expectations, and served his community with distinction.”

This is the second trooper death the Georgia State Patrol has mourned in less than a month.

In late January, trooper Jimmy Cenescar died while trying to arrest a fleeing motorcyclist on I-85 in Gwinnett County.

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