Deputy remembers fallen officer; funeral is Tuesday

Public safety officers often talk about the “what ifs,” said Houston County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Shaw.

He and his best friend, Dexter Hammond, a Headland police officer who was shot and killed Friday afternoon at Granberry Crossroads, had instructed the other on what to do if the “what if” became reality.

“We talked about things like that and I know he would have said, ‘Put that badge back on and go back to work.’ Protect and serve – that’s what we are supposed to do.

“When you get bucked off the horse, you get back on,” Shaw said, surveying the scene where his friend died in the line of duty. “That is what Dexter Hammond would want.”

But friends, family and law enforcement won’t find it easy. More than 50 public safety officers gathered at the site of the shooting Friday afternoon, staying late into the night as officers from the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Dothan Police, and Houston Country Sheriff’s Department processed the scene.

Shaw said he met Hammond, the former police chief of Midland City, about seven years ago. Everything Shaw became as an officer, he said, he owes to Hammond, who was a native of the Eufaula area.

“You know throughout life, there are those people you can call on no matter where you are. He was one of those guys. Come hell or high water, if there was one person that would be there for me, it was Dexter Hammond.”

After leaving the hospital late Friday night, Shaw said he went home and opened a dresser drawer stocked with law enforcement equipment. “I didn’t realize until that night that everything in that drawer, Dexter gave me.”

Shaw clutches a SWAT pin, explaining that it belonged to Hammond. “When I completed SWAT school, he took this off his own uniform and pinned it on mine. That will stay with me the rest of my life.”

Hammond was a former Baker Hill and Eufaula policeman who joined the Headland force in December. By all accounts, he was a top officer who loved his family and his Harley.

“He was fun-loving,” said Headland investigator Scott Langley.”He was one of those officers who would help in any kind of way.”

Headland Police Chaplain Andy Bryan says Hammond was one of the best.

“He was one of the greatest officers we ever had. He was very considerate and he loved his little boy.”

Black ribbons were hung in Headland Saturday and the flags at the police station and local bank flew at half-staff. Funeral services for Hammond are at 11 a.m. Tuesday at The Eufaula Community Center on Lake Drive in Eufaula. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Momday at The Eufaula Community Center.

Officer Hammond was born in Troy. He was a 16-year veteran police officer and owned and operated Hammond’s Tae Kwon Do in Eufaula for 10 years. He is survived by his wife, Chrissy, and a son, Cody. His parents are Stan Hammond and Scarlet Driggers Hammond of Dothan.