A somber but fitting tribute

Nick Smarr and Jody Smith roomed together and graduated together at the police academy of one Georgia college. Late last year they were fatally wounded together near another one. A violent felon shot them both as Smith, an officer with the Georgia Southwestern State University police, rushed to back up his longtime friend Smarr, an Americus police officer responding to a domestic dispute near the GSW campus. Smarr performed CPR on Smith until his own mortal wound left him no strength to continue.

Smith, 26, was to be married in March. Smarr, 25, would be his best man.

Smith didn’t have to respond to the off-campus call he heard on the police radio, but it involved his best friend. Both officers died in the line of duty.

Fittingly, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents recently approved naming the public safety department at GSW the Nicholas Smarr and Jody Smith Memorial Building.

Americus Police Chief Mark Scott called Smarr and Smith “outstanding police officers and great human beings.” They are also — or ought to be — a sobering reminder of the price our best public safety officers too often pay for our protection.

This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "A somber but fitting tribute."