For Tommy and Robbie Capell of Saving A Hero’s Place Inc., remembering fallen law enforcement officers across America is a mission.
Over the past 10 days, the couple has delivered eight handmade honor chairs to six agencies across three states in the eastern U.S., including five in memory of Northeast Georgia officers.
“When an officer makes the ultimate sacrifice and are no longer there, nobody wants to sit there and there’s a void in the roll call room and that’s why we want to place a chair there,” said Tommy Capell, executive director of Saving A Hero’s Place.
The organization started in 2013 when Tommy Capell built a chair in memory of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, just a month after building a chair to honor a fallen San Antonio police officer.
On Wednesday, the Capells delivered honor chairs to Franklin Springs Police Department in honor of part-time Officer Stan Elrod, and to Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Headquarters in honor of Capt. Stan Elrod.
The previous week, chairs were delivered to Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in memory of Deputy Lena Marshall, to Hall County Sheriff’s Office in memory of School Resource Officer Chris Bachelor, and to the Hall County Detention Center in memory of Lt. Brian Keith McNair.
Elrod, who supervised the DNR’s Region 2 office in Gainesville, was struck and killed by a car in 2020 in Madison County while participating in his department’s physical training program.
Marshall died in November 2021, three days after being shot while responding to a domestic disturbance in Hoschton.
Bachelor and McNair died after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty.
The Capells previously presented an honor chair to Hall County Sheriff’s Office in memory of Deputy Blaine Dixon.
“I had no idea that we’d be seeing them again so soon, but they are people who truly have a servant’s heart, and they have a calling – and it’s a very special one,” said Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch.
Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said the presentation of the chair to the sheriff’s office in Jackson County, with her children and co-workers present, was especially meaningful.
“It’s bittersweet today to me as the sheriff because we will always want to honor Lena and the sacrifice she made for the citizens of Jackson County and for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office,” Mangum said.
That chair presentation happened just minutes before a sign was installed designating the service road used by deputies as Deputy Lena Marshall Drive.
To learn more about the honor chairs and the organization that places them, visit savingaherosplace.org.
