Fallen Southwest Atlanta Sheriff's Deputy Among Officers Remembered Wednesday

Southwest Atlantan and Fulton County sheriff's Sgt. Hoyt "Keith" Teasley, who lost his life in the 2005 Brian Nichols Atlanta Courthouse Killings, was among those honored Wednesday at a memorial service for fallen Fulton County fire and law enforcement officers.

The Fulton County Public Safety service was Wed., May 11, at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 48 Martin Luther King Jr., Dr.

Fallen officers, firefighters, and deputies from the Fulton County Marshal’s Department, the Fulton County Police Department, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the Fulton County Fire and Rescue Department were remembered. 

According to a release by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the Fulton County Fire and Rescue Department has lost three firefighters in the line of duty and the Fulton County Marshal’s Department lost one deputy marshal in 1977. 

Three officers from the Fulton County Police Department were slain in the line of duty over the years and the Sheriff’s Office, has experienced seven deaths dating as far back as 1921.

According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, there have been more than 19,000 officers killed in the line of duty in the United States since the first recorded incident in 1791.  The Fallen Firefighters Foundation has established the nationwide Roll of Honor to remember the more than 3,000 firefighters killed in the line of duty since 1981.

Teasley worked 19 years as a sheriff's deputy in Fulton County. He was survived by his wife Deborah, and his daughters DeKeisha and Deona.