Ceremony marks 30 years since his death
The morning may have been cold, but hearts were warm as Gilmer residents remembered Deputy Sheriff Brett Dickey.
Dickey was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 13, 1996.
“As long as I’m here, this department will never forget this day, and we will honor Brett’s memory,” Sheriff Stacy Nicholson said.
Along with seven others, he was serving a warrant when the man they were arresting started shooting.
Dickey died, and another officer, Deputy Mark Sanford, was shot in the leg, surviving with a permanent injury.
Dickey’s father-in-law, Chief Deputy Andy Key, was present serving the warrant.
To honor their fallen deputy, the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) honor guard lowered the flag to half-mast and played taps. Their ceremony started at 8 a.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
More than 50 people were in attendance, including fellow law enforcement officers and members of Dickey’s family.
His death deeply affected the county and its officers.
“Those of us that were there and survived, we were also wounded,” Nicholson said. “Wounded in a way that we have to overcome every day.”
When someone dies enforcing the law, they die to protect.
“Each time a police officer is killed in the line of duty across the United States, it doesn’t really matter how that happens. The nation should mourn,” Nicholson said.
Dickey died because a man refused to be subject to government authorities, GCSO chaplain Scotty Davis said.
When people refuse to be ruled by law, it causes tragedies.
“I thank God for governing authorities,” Davis said.
Every day, Gilmer residents live in a county rule by law because Dickey and other officers are willing to pay that cost.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 2025 has the lowest number of officer deaths on record since the organization began keeping records in 1996.
Dickey’s family thanked county residents for standing with them.
“Gilmer County has a lot of love and respect for us and Brett,” said Dickey’s father, Joe Dickey.