Americus laid to rest one of its own for the second time this week. Family, friends and fellow officers gathered for a final farewell to Officer Jody Smith.
“It's a brotherhood, it's a sisterhood were all in this together,” Georgia State University Police Chief Joseph Spillane said.
Officers from dozens of Georgia departments and college police forces showed up to pay their respects. Spillane was one of them.
“It is very unusual to have a campus officer killed in the line of duty,” Spillane said. “It’s a very tragic situation, we just feel for the family.”
Officers weren't the only ones showing their appreciation for smith. Marsha Angrish was one of hundreds that lined the streets of Americus.
“Never in a thousand years would I have thought this would happened right here in Americus, Sumter county,” Angrish said. “You hear about it everywhere else.”
Others like Millie Trussell stood and watched with a simple gesture, she placed her hand over heart.
“That was my way of saluting the guys that lost their lives and all the blue that was here to support them,” Trussell said.
She said she had to be there to see this. Especially after learning of the bond between Smith and officer Nicolas Smarr. In his final seconds alive Smarr tried to save officer Smith.
“I'm not sure they wouldn’t have don't it for anybody,” Trussell said. That’s was the nature of these guys.”
An act of selfless service, but for them protecting Americus was just answering the call of duty.
“A job well done, a job well done he did what he loved to do,” Angrish said.
Officer Smith was laid to rest at Johnson Cemetery in Americus.
The other officer slain in Americus, 25-year-old Nicholas Smarr, was laid to rest on Sunday.