Two funeral services are scheduled this week for Dekalb County Police Officer Edgar Flores. The first one will take place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 18 at All Saints Catholic Church at 2443 Mt. Vernon Road in Dunwoody. The second service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church at 6439 Spout Springs Road in Flowery Branch.
Following the second service, Flores will be interred at Yonah Memorial Gardens in Demorest.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, December 16 from 6-8 p.m. and on Monday, December 17 from 6-8 p.m. at Whitfield Funeral Home’s North Chapel in Demorest.
Flores remembered
The 24-year-old Flores was shot and killed by a suspect following a traffic stop near I-20 in Dekalb County.
According to the GBI, around 5 p.m. on December 13, Officer Flores pulled over 33-year-old Brandon Taylor. Taylor fled on foot. Flores chased him into the parking lot of a nearby business. That’s where the GBI says Taylor pulled a gun on Officer Flores and shot him multiple times. Taylor then ran from the scene.
Medics rushed Flores to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“May the world know just what a treasure they were robbed of on the side of the road.” – Lexie Clutter, former teacher
The suspect was later found hiding in a pile of tires about a block away from the initial traffic stop. The GBI says he shot a police K-9. Three Dekalb SWAT officers returned fire and shot Taylor. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Flores remembered
Flores lived in Decatur but grew up in Habersham County. He graduated from Habersham Central High School in 2012. He was an honors student and soccer player. As news of his death spread through the local community, those who knew him took to social media to share their grief and memories.
“He was the kind of student you wish you had a classroom full of… kind, smart, and funny. He always had a smile for everyone.” – Lori Gary, HCHS teacher
“My heart is just broken at the loss of this precious human,” wrote Lexie Clutter. “It was my honor and privilege to teach him and watch him grow. He was such a good student and an excellent human being. May the world know just what a treasure they were robbed of on the side of the road.”
“He was the kind of student you wish you had a classroom full of… kind, smart, and funny. He always had a smile for everyone,” says another of Flores’ former high school teachers, Lori Gary.
Flores would have turned 25 on December 18. He was engaged to be married to his high school sweetheart. He was a rookie cop who had been on the force for less than two years.
His ambition, says fellow Dekalb police officer and police academy classmate Habib Dim Ashogbon, was to work in forensics science. In 2016, Flores graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
“He wanted to venture into forensics science, but wanted experience on the road helping people,” Ashogbon wrote about his friend on a Go Fund Me page he set up to help with funeral expenses. “He helped when he could to the best of his ability while upholding the laws of the state of Georgia. He did just that till his last breathe (sic).”
Flores is the fifth police officer to be killed in the line of duty in Georgia this year.
“We lost a person of great promise yesterday because of a senseless crime and act of violence,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said Friday.
READ Body of slain Dekalb County Police Officer to be returned home to Habersham
Officer Flores’ body was returned home to Baldwin on Saturday. The procession that escorted him included more than 100 law enforcement, fire, and emergency service vehicles.
Thousands lined the procession route to pay their respects.
