Brandon Cunningham wasn’t hired the first time he applied to work in law enforcement. But he didn’t let it stop him, his brother said.
“While it would have discouraged others from applying again, it just gave him that much more confidence,” his brother, Cristian, said during Friday’s funeral service. “He never faltered. He came back the next day with a plan and a date of when he would reapply.”
In 2020, Cunningham was hired as a jailer with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and worked his way up to being a deputy. It was doing that job he loved, serving his community, that Cunningham lost his life. On Aug. 17, he was shot to death while responding to a call at a home near Hiram.
Cunningham was the first Paulding deputy killed in the line of duty since the agency was formed in 1834. On Friday, his family and friends joined hundreds of members of the law enforcement community along with Gov. Brian Kemp for his funeral at West Ridge Church in Dallas. Cunningham, 30, was a father of two.
A lifelong resident of Paulding, Sheriff Gary Gulledge has served the community for more than 34 years including 16 years as the county’s top cop.
“This is, by far, the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Gulledge said.
Gulledge told mourners how Cunningham had once helped a child with autism, and how the parent had been so grateful for his kindness. Last week, Cunningham made the ultimate sacrifice.
Cunningham and another deputy were responding to a domestic violence call at a Foggy Creek Lane home. Within seconds of getting out of his patrol car, Cunningham was shot.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Investigators said James Samuel Atkins, 42, shot Cunningham, then continued firing shots from a high-powered rifle equipped with a scope. The deputy died from his injuries. Atkins also shot his wife, who survived, and then himself, investigators said. He was found dead inside his home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Gulledge told those attending the service to remember Cunningham for how he lived, rather than his final moments.
“There are certain people out in the world that make it a better place to live,” he said. “Be that person.”
A friend, speaking on behalf of Cunningham’s mother, said the family had been overwhelmed by love and support in the days since his death.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
“While we grieve, we ask that you remember the joy, the love and the laughter that he brought into all of our lives,” said the friend, explaining that was the message Maria Cunningham wanted those attending the funeral to know.
In addition to his children and mother, Cunningham is survived by three brothers and his fiancée, also a Paulding deputy. Shayla Benson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that when they met she and Cunningham were both were jailers. When she heard he had been shot, she tried to reach him but the gunfire stopped her.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
Cpl. Jacob Martin said Cunningham did everything he was asked and was always eager to do the job. The deputy was genuine and full of joy, and will be remembered for his constant smile.
“I know he will always be with us,” Martin said. “We love you, buddy.”
After the service, a recording of Cunningham’s final call was played and a 21-gun salute and flyover were held outside of the church. From there, a funeral procession led to Kennesaw Memorial Park for a private burial. The route along Dallas Highway was lined with those waiving U.S. flags.
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