Law enforcement officers responding to domestic disputes often risk being met with violence.
A 2017 study of FBI data found that on average, more than 4,000 police officers are assaulted each year while responding to domestic violence calls, resulting in about six police deaths annually.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Officials said that’s what happened Saturday when Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, was gunned down outside a home near Hiram, about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta. The father of two was a Marietta High School graduate and had been with the sheriff’s office a little more than four years.
Authorities said it appeared Cunningham and another deputy were “ambushed” and met with gunfire as they arrived at a home along Foggy Creek Lane a little after 6 p.m.
“The officer or deputy responding to a domestic call has no idea what weapons are in the house,” said Marietta police spokesman Officer Chuck McPhilamy, who was among the law enforcement officers from area jurisdictions who responded to the scene Saturday night.
“Most of us got into this profession because we have a deep desire to help others in need,” McPhilamy said. “Unfortunately, that desire can lead us into the most dangerous situations when responding to a domestic dispute.”
Cunningham, he said, never even had the chance to defend himself.
Authorities said James Samuel Atkins, 42, had shot his wife before opening fire on the arriving deputies. He was later found dead of what investigators said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“He went to assist a family in the middle of a dispute, only to have his life cut short,” McPhilamy said. “Our hearts ache for him, his family and everyone touched by this tragedy.”
There were 171,596 reported incidents of domestic violence in the state from 2018-2021, according to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. In 2022, there were 193 known domestic violence fatalities in Georgia, the commission found. Firearms were used in 81% of those family-violence related deaths.
Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge planned to hold a news conference Monday afternoon as mourners dropped off flowers and tributes poured in for his slain deputy.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
A number of metro Atlanta law enforcement leaders planned to attend, including Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds, who said he wanted to show solidarity with the men and women of the Paulding sheriff’s office in the wake of Cunningham’s death.
Reynolds said the fear of losing an employee in the line of duty is enough to keep most sheriffs and police chiefs up at night.
“It’s tough,” he said. “It’s always tragic when someone in public safety gets killed while they’re out there trying to serve their community.”
