Deputies To Attend Police Memorial in Baton Rouge

WOODSTOCK, GA -- A few members of the Cherokee Sheriff's Office will make the trip to Louisiana to pay their respects to the three Baton Rouge officers killed in the line of duty earlier this month.

The agency's Motor Unit will depart for Baton Rouge for the memorial service for the officers who were killed on Sunday, July 17.

The memorial is planned for 2 p.m. July 28 at Baton Rouge's Healing Place Church, according to The Times-Picayune.

Cherokee sheriff's deputies set to attend the service include: Jeffery Goettel, Zachary Luna, James Roberts, John Cleveland, Sgt. Lee Stewart and Capt. Gene Peluso.

The Law Enforcement community is a family," the sheriff's office said. "In times of loss, it is important for those of us in this profession to show respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and to let their families know they have our support."

Three officers were killed and another three were wounded in an ambush after receiving a call of an armed man in the area of Airline and Old Hammond highways around 8:40 p.m. July 17, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson previously said.

Around 8:44 a.m., police received a call of officers down, and just a few minutes later police received a call of more shots fired. The suspect, who was described as wearing all black, was then seen standing near a car wash. Officers engaged with the subject -- later identified as Gavin E. Long, 29 -- who was then shot dead at the scene about eight minutes from when the first call came in.

Officers killed in the shooting were Montrell Jackson and Matthew Gerald of the Baton Rouge Police Department and Brad Garafola, a sheriff's deputy with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.

Patch editor Feronze Dhanoa contributed to this article.

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Photo: from left to right are Deputy Jeffery Goettel, Deputy Zachary Luna, Sgt Lee Stewart, Cpt Gene Peluso, Deputy John Cleveland, and Deputy James Roberts. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office