Three officers were honored last week by the Henry County Police Department with citations for exceptional work on the job.
According to a statement released February 11, officers responded last November to an address on Coan Drive in McDonough regarding a suicidal person armed with a handgun. The individual in question was inside a barn on the property and threatened to shoot himself, at times placing the gun against his head or under his chin.
One of the first responding officers, Alex Maddox, developed a rapport with the individual and even continued speaking with him after trained negotiators arrived on scene while additional officers positioned themselves around the barn. The man eventually placed the gun within his waistband, after which a second officer, Joey Maddox, came around the side of the barn and tried unsuccessfully to tase him. The man was startled enough that he was disarmed and taken into custody without anyone being injured, and he was taken to a mental health facility for evaluation.
L. to R.: Alex Maddox, Joey Maddox and Josh Cash. Special photo
Both officers were commended for their actions at the scene – Alex Maddox for communicating with the man in distress, and Joey Maddox for his courage in the face of danger. “Both officers are recognized for their roles in bringing an intense and dangerous situation to a successful conclusion,” according to an HCPD statement.
One month before this incident, Josh Cash was patrolling I-75 when he saw a pickup truck parked along an overpass. He also noticed a young man standing behind the truck, his hands resting on the wall of the bridge. While making his way up to the overpass, Cash notified a dispatcher that the man appeared distressed.
While the two men were talking, Cash noticed that the man was clearly distraught and saw him start to put his foot on the wall of the bridge. Fearing that he was going to jump, Cash grabbed the back of the man’s shirt and walked him back to the patrol car. The ensuing conversation got the man calmed down, and Cash convinced him to go with emergency personnel who arrive on the scene to take him for a mental health evaluation.
“Thanks to Officer Cash’s alertness while on patrol and his compassion for others, he was able to assist the young man and get him much needed help, quite possibly saving his life in the process,” an HCPD official noted.
All three officers received Officer of the Month awards for October and November.
