AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia teenager has created a memorial garden in remembrance of law officers killed in the line of duty.
Justin Strickland, 18, undertook the project for his Eagle Scout project, The Augusta Chronicle reported.
The garden is outside the south precinct of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in Augusta.
Plants line a stone path that leads to a headstone in the middle of the garden. The park also includes a bench, where visitors can reflect on the lives of fallen officers.
The death of Richmond County sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Meagher, who was killed by liquid nitrogen fumes while trying to rescue an employee at a local company in February, was a driving force for the project, the newspaper reported.
Strickland said he wanted to produce a garden to memorialize officers like Meagher, who give not only their time but sometimes sacrifice their lives.
“I really wanted my project to be meaningful,” Strickland said. “I was thinking about whom in the community has sacrificed most of their time and was really unappreciated and then I thought of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.”
Sheriff’s officials recently gathered at the garden during a small ceremony as the headstone was unveiled.
“You can just sit here for a moment and reflect on the sacrifices of officers not just here in Richmond County but throughout the nation,” Richmond County Sheriff Roundtree said.
Roundtree said he appreciates the teen’s work and the perspective that he is bringing to the community.
“When you turn on the news and you see the plight that officers are going through with their community trying to build that trust, just a moment that a citizen, especially a young person, would come out and take their time and do this, it only takes a moment to see and take everything back into perspective as to why we do this job,” he said.
Strickland’s father, sheriff’s Maj. Steven Strickland, was not only happy about his son’s decision to give back to the sheriff’s office, but proud of his passion to do so.
“He kind of had the insights that a lot of people his age probably wouldn’t obviously just from me working here and I was happy to see him pick that,” he said.
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