HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — As police tracked down the man police said shot Henry County Police Officer Paramhans Desai, Channel 2′s Matt Johnson spoke with Desai’s sister, Divya Desai, who said her brother wanted to be a police officer since he was a little kid.
“He always used to tell everyone around him that I went when I grew up, I’m going to be a police officer,” Desai said.
But it was his family, his wife, and his 11- and 8-year-old sons that gave him life.
“His family and his boys were his No. 1 priority. They were everything,” Desai said.
The community has come together to raise at least $87,000 for officer Desai’s family.
“Without this community support, I think we would be shattered glass” the sister said.
She told Johnson that everyone is focused on helping his two sons live the life he wanted for them.
“I want to see that his boys grow up with the full education that he had all the dreams for,” Desai said.
The 38-year-old moved to the United States with his sister and his parents 30 years ago from India.
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Paramhans Desai spent 17 years in law enforcement, first with the Department of Corrections, then with DeKalb County police before joining Henry County.
“He was so proud to be in Henry County, because he would talk about every single of his colleagues that worked with him,” Divya Desai said.
When his colleagues were not banding together to find Officer Desai’s accused killer, they surrounded his family with love.
“They have never let us go,” Divya Desai said. “We feel protected.”
Even after his death, Paramhans Desai found a way to protect and serve others, by donating his organs like the hero his sister has always known.
“He’s saving 11 lives as he goes. And I’m so thankful. And I hope one day I can be like him,” Divya Desai said.
Donations are being accepted at the Henry County Police Department for Desai’s family.
They’re also promoting the GoFundMe account. So far, more than $110,000 has been raised for the officer’s family.
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