Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

God bless the blue angels.
Those willing to go, everyday into the valley of the shadow.
and those who now find peaceful shelter on the other side.
You are forever in our hearts and prayers.

ACooper
Emt

January 12, 2004

Rest in peace my brothers, though sense will never be made in your deaths, you died protecting the sheep from the wolves. May your families find comfort in a job well done. God bless

Officer D. Ridenour Jr
Modesto Police Dept. CA

January 12, 2004

Tony was a very kind hearted man and a good officer. I remember receiving a very nice congratulations letter from him just days after being hired as an Athens officer after having been a reserve officer there. In that letter, Tony shared with me the joy that he had in working as a police officer and how he was glad that I had the opportunity to pursue the same career that he so enjoyed. That was Tony.

Words just cannot describe the void felt in the hearts of all those who knew him. It's comforting to know that Tony is walking a beat on Heaven's streets now.

Scott Worsham
Madison Co, AL Emergency Management & Reserve Madison Co. Sheriff Dept

January 11, 2004

From Sheriff Hubert Norris and staff, to the family, friends and co-workers of officer Anthony Mims, Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this tragic time. May God be with you and bless you. Rest in peace Brother!

Sgt. Byron Yerby
Fayette Co. Alabama Sheriff's Dept.

January 11, 2004

Sir, we now know that you are in a much better place, away from the pain and suffering here on Earth. May you walk the streets of high above wearing your new badge with pride and valor because you are a true hero among us. And to Mr. Mims' friends and family I ask that you please remember that you are still a part of OUR family and we are with you always. Our deepest thoughts from all of us here at the Osage County, KS Sheriff's Office.

Your Brothers and Sisters
Osage County, KS Sheriff's Office

January 11, 2004

thank you for your time well served! may God be with your family and friends during this time and the long road ahead.
may God watch over all of our officers that keep us safe! rest in peace!

dispatcher
tn

January 10, 2004

Thank you for your service. Please watch over all of us from above. You will never be forgotten.

Anonymous

January 10, 2004

May you rest in peace Ofc Mims and Sgt Russell. My prayers are with you and your family and the officers of the Athens PD. May God bless you all.

PII B. Giannini
Memphis PD

January 8, 2004

I am very saddened to hear of your loss. Rest in peace Brother in Blue.

TFC B.L. Mims
GEORGIA STATE PATROL

January 8, 2004

To the friends and family of fallen hero Anthony Mims, I am very sorry for your loss. I don't think I have ever met Officer Mims but even so, I love him. He is my brother. Officer Mims, thanks for the hours, days, months, years, and blood you gave for your community. The world is a better place for the lives you have touched...

To the heros left behind, Peace to you...

Officer G. Calef
Eugene Or. Police Dept.

Police Officer Greg Calef
Eugene Oregon Police Dept.

January 8, 2004

Rest in Peace Brother.

SGT. Cliff Dore
ST. Martin Parish Sheriffs Office

January 8, 2004

I pray for the family, friends, and the men and women of the Athens Police Dept. Rest in Peace Brother in blue

Corporal Judson T. McClantoc
Kinsey Police Dept. Alabama

January 8, 2004

May God comfort your family and friends during this difficult and tragic time.

TFC Jason W. Ginn
Mississippi Highway Patrol

January 7, 2004

Rest in peace brother in blue.
The watch is ours now.

God bless your family and your department.
Thanks for your dedication and service.

Trooper
Pennsylvania State Police

January 7, 2004

Officer Anthony Lee Mims. Please know that your service did not go unnoticed, you can now receive your reward. My prayers are with you, your family and the men and women of the Athens Police Department.
Thank you sir, you will not be forgotten.

Lt Thomas H. Drury
Clare City Police Department Clare, Mi

January 7, 2004

“When God made Peace Officers….”

When the lord was creating Peace Officers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And the Lord said, Have you read the spec on this order? A Peace Officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn’t touch, and not wrinkle their uniform.

They have to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day.

They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black coffee and half- eaten meals. And they have to have six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands….No Way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me the problems,” said the Lord, “It’s the three pairs if eyes and officer has to have.”

That’s on the standard model? asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before he asks, “May I see what’s in there sir?” (When they already know and wishes in that they had taken that accounting job.) Another pair here in the side of their head for their partners’ safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, “ You’ll be alright ma’am, when they know it isn’t so.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching his sleeve,” rest and work tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on civil service paycheck.”

The angel circled the model of the Peace Officer very slowly, “Can it think?” she asked.

“You bet,” said the Lord, “It can tell you elements of a hundred crimes, recite Miranda warnings in it’s sleep; detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five judges to debate the legality of the stop…and still it keeps it’s sense of humor.

This officer also has phenomenal personal control. They can deal with crime scenes painted in HELL, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim’s family’ and then read in the daily paper how Law Enforcement isn’t sensitive to the rights of criminal suspects.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Peace Officer. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model.”

“That’s not a leak,” said the Lord, “It’s a tear.”

“What’s the tear for?” asked the angel.

“It’s for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for justice.”

“You’re a genius,” said the angel.

The Lord looked sober. “I didn’t put it there,” he said.


Anonymous

Senior Instructor
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

January 7, 2004

God Bless You and God Bless Your Family.
Thank you for what you did to protect us every day.

Anonymous

January 7, 2004

Rest in peace. Sorry you had to die at a coward hands.

Shannon

January 6, 2004

Tony:

Today we laid you to rest.

Your dedication and sacrifice will not be forgotten. I pray that your death, although tragic and senseless on the surface may gain deep meaning as we come to understand that there is a purpose to everything. I was blessed with having known you, for this I will be eternally grateful.

Paramedic
Athens-Limestone Hospital EMS

January 6, 2004

Rest in peace brother. God bless your family.

Officer K.A. Lokey
Norfolk Police Department, Virginia

January 6, 2004

May God be with the family.A terrible tragidy to take a honorable man and friend.I will miss Tony and my heart will bleed for him for a long time.Words will never explain how i feel toward this but to know that God made a man like Tony to have lived and known will help ease the pain.You served our town well..............................

Firefighter/Paramedic
Athens Fire & Rescue/ Athens EMS

January 6, 2004

From all of us here at Athens-Limestone EMS…..You will be missed, but never forgotten. You and your family will remain in our payers. May God bring peace to you and your family.

B. Kinzer ALS-3, T. McGill ALS-12, A. Gatlin ALS-7, K. Shell ALS-33, D. Thompson ALS-21, W. Dement ALS-18, and D. Williams ALS-22

David Williams, Paramedic
Athens-Limestone EMS

January 5, 2004

God Bless you and your family. You will not be forgotten.

Deputy Sheriff Frank N. Felicetta III
Pinellas County Sheriffs Office, Florida

January 5, 2004

Rest in peace Brother, and you and Larry watch our backs form heaven as we carry on fighting crime. You are a HERO brother.

Randy Cavnar Officer
Decatur Al. Police

January 5, 2004

Rest in Peace Brother in Blue.
You shall not be forgotten.
You have served your community with pride and dignity.

Sheriff Steve Brown
Lunenburg/Queens Co. Sheriff's Office, Bridgewater, N.S., Canada

January 5, 2004