Family honors fallen Cobb County officer 30 years after his death

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Family and friends gathered early Thursday morning to pay tribute to the first Cobb County police officer to die in the line of duty.

Thirty years after his death, Officer Robert Ingram's family and the Cobb County Police Department are still honoring his life and legacy.

Ingram was just 24 years old on July 13, 1993, when he responded to reports of a suspicious person and asked a man for his identification.

Officer Robert James Ingram

The man, George Russell Henry, shot Ingram in his ear before stealing his police cruiser.

Henry, who had been just released from prison, was arrested and sentenced to death row. He died in 2014.

George Russell Henry

The news of the young officer gunned down shocked the community. He had gotten married just a few months earlier.

At 12:40 a.m. - the exact time of Ingram's death - family, friends, and members of the Cobb County Police Department gathered near the intersection of Marble Hill Road and Marr Avenue to light candles and share stories about the fallen officer.

"Robbie was like a son in reality. He was 24 years old at the time. I taught Robbie how to water ski. We went on camping trips with his parents," Ingram's uncle Roger Parker told FOX 5.

Parker said that Ingram was an "all-around good clean kid."

"Everyone in the family always loved him," he said. "He was full of life."

The family said they appreciated that the Cobb County Police Department has kept Ingram's memory alive even 30 years after his death.

"It means a lot to see the department have this much of a show of support to remember one of their fallen heroes with a badge," Parker said.

Ingram was also posthumously awarded the Cobb County Police Department's Medal of Valor.