I never met Lowndes County Sheriff Big John Williams. I never heard of him until this past Sunday morning when I learned he was shot to death outside a convenience store in Hayneville, Ala. I didn't know Big John, as he was called, but my heart dropped because I've known many law enforcement officers over the years that reminded me of Big John as I began to read stories and reach out to our current Sheriff Heath Jackson and former Sheriff Grover Smith.
Both knew Big John. Both had become friends like other people in the same profession become friends. Whether you run a newspaper or sheriff's office you reach out to people in your profession and ask questions and bounce ideas off of each other.
In talking with Jackson and Smith and reading other accounts of Sheriff John Williams I head and read a similar theme. Big John was a lifelong law enforcement officer who worked his way up the ranks and was eventually elected as sheriff in Lowndes County in 2010.
Long before I talked to Jackson and Smith I could see that Williams was a lot like them – a sheriff in a rural county that took his job seriously and wanted to help people in his community.
Although I don't know all the facts at this point, it appears Sheriff Williams was outside a convenience store in Hayneville, Ala., about 8 p.m. Saturday night when he heard loud music booming out of a vehicle. He approached the vehicle to tell the driver to turn it down. He was then shot once in the head and died at the scene.
My bet is Big John had left the office earlier, but sheriffs and other law enforcement officers are really never off duty, especially in rural areas. They don't take these jobs for the money – they do it because they want to help the people in the communities they work for.
Big John didn't do anything Sheriff Jackson wouldn't do, didn't do anything former Sheriff Grover Smith wouldn't have done or any police chief, deputy or officer would do. They may have all been 'off the clock' so-to-speak, but they are still law enforcement officers and they step in when they see something they need to address.
According to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Sheriff Williams becomes the fifth law enforcement officer killed in Alabama this year.
What concerns me is Sheriff Williams' death will be old news in about a week and we won't read much about the 18-year old who killed him. I may have missed it, but I haven't seen much national coverage about Williams' death. I may be wrong, my wife tells me I'm wrong all the time, but a dead cop doesn't get the press as much as a cop shooting and killing somebody else. Williams is black, he was shot by a white teen. The race card will soon follow.
Had Williams been white and actually shot a black teen the national media would be all over this story.
Several years ago at my church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Brewton, they put up a piece of paper this time of year to ask us what to write what we were thankful for. Most of the responses were that we were thankful for our families.
I enter this Thanksgiving season thankful for my family, but I also enter this season thankful for the many men and women who protect me working for fire departments, police departments and as emergency workers.
Like Sheriff Williams, we have law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line for us every day.
They wake up every morning knowing deep down that they may not make it back to their families at night. They put their lives on the line every time they make a traffic stop or respond to a domestic call.
This Thanksgiving give thanks to the first responders who keep our lives safe. They deserve our prayers and our support.
See a cop, a fireman or an EMT, simply tell them 'Thank You', those words mean more than you can imagine.
