Residents are strongly encouraged to express their concerns and condolences for the brave men and women of the Columbus Police Department by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — According to numerous sources, police chief Freddie Blackmon did not attend the funeral of one of his own fallen CPD officers. 

Officer John Marr, a seven-year veteran of the department’s patrol unit, served our city honorably and with distinction. Marr was found unresponsive on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 and was later pronounced deceased. Officer Marr’s funeral was held this Monday on March 13, 2023.

Police Chief Freddie Blackmon, our city’s head law enforcement officer and leader of the department, allegedly chose to skip the funeral. He was nowhere to be seen. 

According to sources, Blackmon opted to make better use of his time by working on his presentation of his ‘strategic plan’ instead, which he was to deliver to city council the following morning on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

One source gave the following account through a confidential email to the Muckraker:

“Chief Blackmon chose not to come to Officer Marr's funeral today … he chose to work on his presentation to council tomorrow instead of attending … I heard he was working on it from several people who had been told this by someone with first-hand knowledge.”

Several other credible and independently-verified sources also contacted the Muckraker with the same information. One example of these sources’ messages is as follows: 

“The chief of police didn’t attend the funeral of the fallen officer this week … my (spouse) attended the funeral.”

It is unclear if Blackmon independently chose to not attend, or if perhaps he was not welcome — which would of course be indicative of far greater issues surrounding Blackmon’s years of leadership failure. 

If Blackmon did make the decision himself to not attend the funeral of one of his own fallen officers, it is his single most egregious example of his extreme lack of basic ethical leadership.

We feel as if this goes without saying, but we are going to say it anyway:

There is nothing — nothing — more repulsive than the leader of a martial agency making the purposeful decision to not attend the funeral of one of his own fallen officers. There is no excuse. None. It doesn’t matter what you have on your schedule; you drop it and you make the time. The sheer fact that this was not instinctive to Blackmon is pathetically disgraceful.  

Furthermore, his decision to instead work on his ‘strategic plan’ is despicably grotesque. 

Our hearts continue to weigh heavily for the family of Officer John C. Marr and the men and women of the Columbus Police Department who continue to give our city their absolute all each and every day. 

We ask our readers to continue to support our city’s Finest in every way possible. 

Residents are strongly encouraged to express their concerns and condolences for the brave men and women of the Columbus Police Department by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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