Slain DeKalb County Officer Laid to Rest This Morning
Officer Edgar Flores. Image via the DeKalb County Police Department.
Last week, DeKalb County Police Officer Edgar Flores was gunned down. Today – one day after what would have been his 25th birthday – he was laid to rest.
Late last Thursday afternoon Flores pulled over Justin Taylor on Candler road near I-20. Taylor fled on foot and Flores gave chase. During the pursuit, Taylor fatally shot the officer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Taylor was later shot and killed by DeKalb officers after a brief manhunt.
Flores was honored today in the second of two funeral services held at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody. The first was held yesterday morning, according to WSB-TV, and the burial followed this morning’s service. Friends, family and officers from across the country remembered Flores as a family man, a dedicated public servant and a hero who paid the ultimate price.
“The community support, the folks lining the roadways for the procession to come in here. And the law enforcement community, there’s no other community like that. We are a family,” Dekalb County Police Chief James Conroy said at yesterday’s service, per WSB-TV. “We’ve got honor guards here from as far away as Dallas, Boston. Chicago is here, and Chicago tragically lost two last night in an incident. Yet here they are to support us.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for funerary expenses and to support Flores’ fiancé Lizandra Duran. So far, $23,438 has been raised of the $30,000 goal. DeKalb Officer Habib Dim Ashogbon, who set up the memorial page, writes of his fallen comrade and friend:
“Flores was a great stand-up guy. He kept to himself most times, but he never ceased to have a smile on his face. He was smart, funny, and down to earth,” the page reads. “…he helped when he could to the best of his ability while upholding the laws of the state of Georgia. He did just that till his last breath.”
Alexis Flores, the slain officer’s 15 year-old-sibling, said his brother was his role model, and he wants to walk in his footsteps. He wants to become a police officer and wear his brother’s badge, The AJC reports Dekalb South Precinct Commander Maj. KD Johnson told mourners at the service.
Flores was the third officer killed by gunfire this year in Georgia, the AJC reports, and the fifth to die in the line of duty.