Community Honors Lavonia Police Officers

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

A community comes together to honor two Lavonia Police officers injured in the line of duty.

The sanctuary of Lavonia First Baptist Church was packed with well wishers, local and state officials and law enforcement officers Saturday to honor and celebrate Lavonia Police Captain Michael Schulman and Officer Jeffrey Martin, as both officers were presented with the Purple Heart for bravery, along with other awards and citations.

Schulman and Martin were both shot and wounded in the line of duty the night of December 12 at the Zaxby’s in Lavonia while attempting to question the driver of a vehicle that had been stolen out of South Carolina.

In reflecting on the events of December 12, Martin said he is grateful for those who rushed to help after the shooting and for the friends and loved ones in his life that have helped him recover.

“That’s when I realized how thankful and blessed I am,” he said. “All of that has been in my head over and over; everything that happened that night. I just want to thank everybody for their support.”

In his comments, Captain Schulman thanked his hospital nurse for giving him the courage to do the work necessary to get back home in time for Christmas.

Schulman said he has also forgiven the alleged shooter, 22-year old Khari Anthony Dashaun Gordon of Greenville, South Carolina, and is moving forward with his life because that is what he believes God would have him do.

“I was laying in the hospital and I was thinking about how I could get better and how I could forgive,” Schulman recalled. “And that guy that shot me; I’m going to forgive him because I have to. All that anger built up in me is going to affect my lifestyle and I want to get back to work. I want to get back to my family and what I like to do; what I enjoy doing; what I’ve been doing for 16 years here in Lavonia.”

Martin is back at work and Schulman returned to light duty on Monday.

Speaking Saturday, Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle said intense prayer was going up that night after the shooting.

Carlisle said God answered those prayers and saved the lives of his two officers.

“The bullet that went into Michael didn’t do what it was designed to do,” Carlisle explained. “It was designed to open up and fragment in a rotating shift and tear up everything in its path. It didn’t do that. I don’t why it didn’t do that. And we couldn’t understand why the bullet that hit Jeffrey didn’t take his hand off. He got shot with a .40 caliber bullet. And then we realized when he went for his gun, the bullet hit his baton and slowed it down enough not to take his hand off. There were miracles that night.”

Captured hours after the shooting following an intense manhunt, Gordon was indicted in January by a Franklin County Grand Jury and is being held without bond on charges including Felony Attempt to Commit Murder.