Residents show support for law enforcement with ‘Back the Blue’

Published 10:00 am Monday, April 10, 2017

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — When the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Posse gathered for its quarterly meeting on Bill Johnson Road last Thursday, the discussion included two very important topics. With summer fast approaching Baldwin and the Lake Area, posse members met to receive special training from Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Sgt. Bo Kelly on emergency response methods in and around Lake Sinclair. While the training helped better equip the posse to find one of as many as 20,000 extra people that might get injured or go missing from the lake during summer months (for which law enforcement often enlists the posse to help find), the meeting’s agenda also included a more lighthearted item.

In addition to the training from Sgt. Kelly, Thursday also marked the official unveiling of the “Back the Blue” campaign, a local iteration of a nationwide effort to support law enforcement officers and their families.

“Wesley has been involved in this project before, and they’ve taken up money for the Georgia Narcotics Officers Association,” said Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee of Wesley Nunn, president of the GNOA and commander of the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force. “He presented to us that he wanted to have a promotion here in Baldwin County, and we’ve had so much support in the last year. Especially with all of the law enforcement officers that have been killed in Georgia, we’ve had a tremendous outpouring.”

After a string of highly publicized cases of people dying in police custody (almost exclusively by large, urban departments) fueled widespread distrust of officers that were far removed from the killings last year, a nationwide group wishing to show support for officers coalesced around the “Back the Blue” motto. Already in a multitude of cities and counties throughout the country, the Sheriff’s Posse has brought the campaign to Baldwin County by giving local residents a tangible way to show their support.

“We wanted to have this fundraiser and let people know that we strongly support all of law enforcement, so we’re telling t-shirts and yard signs that say ‘Back the Blue,’” Massee said. “We just ask that people support our officers not only in this community, but throughout the state.”

Starting this week, the Sheriff’s Posse will sell “Back the Blue” t-shirts, yard signs, car decals and license plates, with proceeds going toward the Narcotics Officers Association. In offering a large assortment of “Back the Blue” items, Commander Nunn said that the items will be a great way to raise money for the GNOA and for people to show law enforcement their support, and he hopes to include as many other local departments in the campaign as he can.

“Right now it’s the Baldwin County SO and the [Ocmulgee Drug] Task Force, but we hope to include all local law enforcement,” said Nunn during a free moment cooking for the assorted posse members. “The funds raised are going to be used for planning for the GNOA, and next year we may put the funds somewhere else.”

Among the early supporters of Baldwin’s Back the Blue campaign is posse member and retired president and CEO Herb Chandler. In 1949, Chandler’s father started the first Ace Hardware store in Milledgeville, and today his two children oversee two of the three Ace locations in Baldwin County. The Chandler’s stores are currently the only place for residents to purchase “Back the Blue” gear other than the ODTF, and the second-generation owner expressed pride in his family’s efforts to help the campaign.

“The two [North] Columbia stores are going to participate, and hopefully the North Wayne Street store will as well, but I haven’t talked to him yet,” said Chandler. “We’re honored to be able to do this — it’s going to be good for the community.”

“If you go down to South Georgia and see some of these cities that have had ‘Back the Blue’ going on for quite some time, it’s really amazing to see how much support [they have], and it makes the officer feel wanted and that they’re doing their job,” said Nunn. “We’re not out there to harass the public or any of that type of stuff; we’re there for support, and this shows people’s support for us.”

“Back the Blue” items can be purchased at Ace Hardware; 3011 and 1895 N. Columbia St. Business owners interested in selling items can contact the BCSO at 478-445-4891, or the ODTF at 478-414-5997.