FLOWERY BRANCH – There was one last stop for slain DeKalb County Police Officer Edgar Isidro Flores enroute to his final resting place at Yonah Memorial Gardens near Demorest. That stop took place Wednesday morning at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Flowery Branch.
There a semi-private memorial service was held for family and friends as well as hundreds of law enforcement co-workers. Preceding the memorial in the sanctuary was an hour of “open-mic”, providing an opportunity for grieving loved ones to share their emotions publicly and bring closure to a horrible experience.
Yesterday, at the same 11 o’clock hour, a funeral service was held at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody.
Flores, 24, was killed in the line of duty following an attempted traffic stop nearly a week ago on Candler Road near I-20. Officials say Flores was shot multiple times after giving chase to the motorist who attempted to flee the stop.
The 33-year-old shooter was eventually killed in a shoot-out with SWAT Team members in a nearby wooden area later that day.
Flores, born in Mexico, was days shy of his 25th birthday and leaves behind his mother and father, a brother, and his fiancé.
While the media was barred from the service it was evident from the scene outside the church that the law enforcement community was united in their tribute to a fallen comrade. Hundreds of police vehicles, some form counties far removed from DeKalb County, escorted Flores’ remains from Prince of Peace to Demorest.
Paula Gwynn Grant, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, said, “Today is a memorial service that the family wanted to have with family and friends. It is all in Spanish, different from yesterday’s funeral service…but today’s memorial mass is completely for family and friends.”
The size of the entourage travelling with Flores necessitated the closing of several intersections near the church as well as access ramps onto and off I-985.
Flowery Branch Mayor Mike Miller is a member at Prince of Peace and brought his two sons, David and Tanner, to attend the memorial. Following the service Miller said the shooting of a police officer is something many people think can’t happen in their small town, but it does. “It’s one of those things you, as an elected official, never want, that phone call,” Miller said.
“We didn’t know him, but the one way we can support his family and show that people are praying for them is by attending a funeral service or lining the street as they pass through our city,” Miller said.
Flores family friend Daniella Carrillo of Gainesville said the service was beautiful, and necessary. “I feel like he was honored and there was a lot of people there that appreciate him,” Carrillo said.
Flores is the third police officer shot to death while on duty in Georgia in 2018 according to the “Officer Down Memorial Page” website.
