Dougherty County Police Department (DCPD) will host the annual Fallen Officers Memorial Ceremony on Monday, May 16, 2022, at 1 p.m. at the Al- bany Technical College Kirkland Conference Center, located at 1704 S. Slappey Boulevard, Albany. The annual “Fallen, But Not Forgotten” Ceremony is held annually, and this year’s theme is “Honoring Courage, Saluting Sacrifice,” with a Joint Proclamation by City of Albany Mayor Bo Dorough and Dougherty County Commission Chairman, Christopher S. Cohilas, to be signed and presented.

This annual ceremony is held the same week as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and Na- tional Police Week, which is recognized this year beginning Sunday, May 15, 2022, through Sat- urday, May 21, 2022. This week recognizes and honors all the law enforcement officers as our guardians of life and property, defenders of the individual right to be free, warriors in the war

against crime and dedicated to the preservation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With thousands of law enforcement officers losing their lives in the line of duty in the United States, as of May 2, 2022, two officers were killed in Georgia and 99 officers have lost their lives na- tionwide.

Keynote speaker for the ceremony will be Judge Willie E. Lockette, Chief Judge for the Superior Court of Dougherty County and the Dougherty Judicial Circuit. Born in Turner County, Georgia, Judge Lockette graduated valedictorian from A.S. Clarke High School in Cordele, Georgia and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science Summa Cum Laude from Fort Valley State University, and a Juris Doctor Degree with high honorsw from University of Illinois, College of Law, Champaign, Illinois. Additionally, he has earned professional creden- tials from the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Emory University College is Law, Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Judicial College, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.

A member of the State Bar Association of Georgia and licensed to practice law in all Georgia trial courts, the Supreme Court of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, the United States District Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, Judge Lockette previously practiced law as a Staff Attorney and Manag- ing Attorney of the Albany Regional Office of Georgia Legal Services Programs, Inc. He served as part-time Judge of the Magistrate Court of Dougherty County, Georgia, before being ap- pointed to Chief Judge of that Court, and Judge of the State Court of Dougherty County (by des- ignation).

Receiving numerous social, civic and religious awards and honors, Judge Lockette was elected Judge of the Superior Court of Dougherty County in 1996 and then, re-elected for a consecutive four-year term without opposition. He became Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Dougherty County in 2009 and is a licensed and ordained Baptist Minister and Pastor of the Greater Pines Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.