CORDELE, Ga. — At just 26 years old, Crisp County Sheriff's Deputy Tyee Browne was shot and killed during a traffic stop early Wednesday morning.
Sheriff Billy Hancock spoke about him in a news conference calling his death a great loss.
People in Crisp County say crime has risen in the county, but they were still shocked to hear about the shooting death of a deputy.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says at 3:40 a.m. Wednesday morning Browne went to check on a truck parked in the middle of Highway 280.
The car had come in as stolen.
When Browne went to check on the car the GBI says the driver, 25-year-old Croshawn Cross, shot Browne and fled the scene in the deputy's patrol car.
Browne later died at a Cordele hospital.
“The ambulances were coming down the road, hauling tail that way. And I knew something bad had happened,” Barbara Mcleod said.
She says when she heard of Browne's death she couldn't believe it.
“Doing his job and got shot. Expecting to go home to his family. And he won't be going to his family,” she said.
Mcleod says this violence is reflective of the rising crime in Cordele.
“The gun violence, the drugs. I don’t feel safe, no I don’t,” she said.
Former county commissioner Wallace Mathis says he heard about the shooting the same morning.
“I heard just this morning that he was, you know, detail oriented and was looking forward to a career in law enforcement, and it's just sad,” he said.
The sheriff's office says they've received an outpouring of love from the community as citizens and surrounding law enforcement agencies gathered to pay respects to Browne.
"A deputy, a son, a grandson, a loved one, a friend. While these are all titles that describe deputy Tyee Browne, hero is one we bestow upon him today,” Sheriff Billy Hancock said.
Hancock says Tyee had been patrolling for less than a year. He says this is the first time in his 10-year career he has lost an employee in such a traumatic way.
A Forsyth native and a veteran, Hancock says Browne was a great guy and worker. He says Browne's death is a loss.
Browne graduated from Mary Persons High School where he played soccer and was in the band.
"He will forever remain in our hearts and our minds, inspiring us to serve our community with the same dedication, integrity, compassion that he had,” Hancock said.
He says Deputy Browne did everything he was supposed to do during Wednesday morning’s stop.
The GBI says Cross is charged with malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, theft and more.