Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch message to community:
Just last year I reached out to our community in the aftermath of two separate deadly encounters both of which required our Deputies to fight in defense of their own lives. Thankfully they prevailed. In that communication, I made mention of the fact that our Deputies, and all law enforcement officers for that matter, are members of our community just like everyone else. Their kids go the same schools that yours attend, you might share the same pew at church, or they might take their families to the same shopping malls, restaurants, and movie theatres as you. My point being that these men and women are people whose lives intertwine with yours and this community. Beyond all that, they have chosen the path of the guardian, doing whatever they can, whenever they can to protect those around them. In that communication I also said that my prayer was that this frequency of violence toward law enforcement officers does not become a trend. That has not come to pass.
So I now find myself in a similar position, after yet another episode of extraordinary violence toward our Deputies. I desperately wish that I was able to say once again that we prevailed, but this time we are faced with the sobering reality of saying goodbye to one of our young citizen-guardians, Deputy Nicolas Blane Dixon. His loss has reached every corner of our community and the depths of our agency.
With that said, I want to reassure the citizens of Hall County that Deputy Dixon’s death will not deter the men and women with whom he worked from continuing to fulfill their sworn duties. His legacy will not be one of crippling sorrow, but one of honorable work in a noble profession.
I cannot express how thankful we are for the outpouring of support that the local, state, and even national community has displayed. In these days of what sometimes seems like an overload of negativity toward law enforcement, our hearts are warmed and reassured that we live among some genuinely caring and thoughtful people. For that I offer my sincerest gratitude.
My wish is simply this: please continue to pray for and support Deputy Dixon’s family. Their loss is immeasurable. From now on, every time they see a Hall County Sheriff’s car driving down the road, they will think of him. Every time the blue strobe of a roadside traffic stop catches their eye, their hearts will ache, and every time the sound of a police siren pierces the night they will visualize him behind that car on that fateful night.
Also, continue to pray for and support those in uniform still doing the job, despite the heartache they are experiencing by his loss. Imagine, if you will, their next shift briefing when they will look around and find a void that cannot be filled. Not the one created by one less person on a manpower chart, but the one created by the tragic loss of a smiling face and a large, caring personality.
God bless you all, and once again- thank you.
Sincerely, Sheriff Gerald Couch
Donations for Blane’s family are being collected by
Peach State Bank
325 Washington St SW
Gainesville, GA 30501
Phone: (770) 536-1100 | Fax: (770) 536-2525
