DeKalb County Sheriff's Office remembers sheriff-elect killed 23 years ago

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office paid tribute on Friday to a dedicated colleague who was murdered 23 years ago.

Derwin Brown was elected Sheriff in DeKalb County back in 1999, but he was assassinated by his political rival, Sidney Dorsey, and never took office. Dorsey is still in prison for the crime.

The December 2000 murder, just days before Christmas, stunned the metro Atlanta area. The political assassination made national news and has even been the subject of documentaries.

"I can remember this call like it was yesterday," DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox recalled. Twenty-three years later, DeKalb's current sheriff hosted a memorial for the man who she credits with introducing her to law enforcement.

"He said, 'Hey, the freeze is lifted. I need you to put in your application,' and less than six months later, I was a DeKalb County police officer because of Derwin Brown," the sheriff said.

Sheriff Maddox says she tries to walk in Brown's shoes every day that she goes to work. 

The man who graduated sheriff school with Brown and spent most of his last day on Earth with the sheriff-elect talked about the significance of the patch that Brown created.

"This was the patch that Derwin designed for DeKalb County. His reasons for having the eagle on his patch were a symbol of wisdom and vision," retired Sheriff Athens-Clarke County Sheriff Ira Edwards remembered.

The death has perhaps weighed heaviest on Brown's five children. Daughter Brandi still calls herself daddy's little girl.

"Even though it's been 23 years, I promise you, if we think about it, it feels like yesterday. Many days go by, and we don't talk about it because we don't want to think about it," Brown's daughter Brandi Brown confided.

The family and the department laid a wreath in Brown's memory, a symbol that reminds everyone that Brown's integrity and legacy will never die. Brown's daughter Brandi challenged everyone to do the work and fight for the people if you want to honor her father's legacy.

The Brown family had its annual graveside memorial for Brown Friday evening.