Hundreds gather to honor fallen Polk County officer

POLK COUNTY, Ga. — There was a large turnout of people Tuesday to say goodbye to a local police detective who was shot and killed in the line of duty.

Nearly 1,000 people, mostly police officers, filled up Victory Baptist Church to honor Polk County Detective Kristen Hearne.

Among the crowd of people was the officer who was shot and injured while working with Hearne.

He told Channel 2’s Chris Jose that Hearne saved his life. Officer David Goodrich met the Hearne family two days before the funeral and thanked them.

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Everyone at the funeral was thanking Hearne as well, calling her a hero, honoring her years of service to the community.

“I can never tell them thank you enough,” Hearne's mother, Trish Brewer, said. “I just want everyone to know, thank you, and we love you from the bottom of our hearts.

Jose met with Hearne's mother and husband a few hours before the funeral.

“She's a hero. She's always been my hero and always been my son's hero, too. He loved his mom very dearly,” husband Matt Hearne told Jose.

Facing a big crowd, Brewer delivered the eulogy with Kristen and Matt's 3-year-old son, Isaac.
Brewer said the funeral service wasn't goodbye.

“We'll never say goodbye. It's never 'goodbye.' It's 'until we meet again,'” Brewer told Jose. “Her watch ended that day. But now she's watching over us. She's watching over us in heaven now.”

Kristen Hearne started her law enforcement career nearly a decade ago. She worked for the Polk County Police Department for five years.

“She really made an impact on every one of our lives,” Police Chief Kenny Dodd told the congregation Tuesday.

Dodd also took a moment to remind his officers to always be safe.

“You owe it to your family,” Dodd said.

Now, the police family is watching over the Hearne family, who couldn't be more thankful.

“She was the most amazing, beautiful person that I’ve ever known. She died doing what she loved to do,” Matt Hearne said.

Kristen's husband told Jose that he's never met so many strangers. And those strangers are rallying behind his family.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family. If you'd like to donate Click HERE.

Cox Media Group