Patrolman Hobert L. Brown

Hobert L. Brown

Patrolman Hobert Brown was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a driver with a sawed-off shotgun who had escaped from jail.

The suspect had escaped from the Cherokee County Jail, where he was being held on a robbery charge a week earlier. The day before he shot Patrolman Brown, the suspect robbed two service stations in Woodstock and took both attendants hostage. He later shoved one victim from his car in Gilmer County. As they ran, he shot one in the back, leaving him in serious condition. However, the man was able to describe the vehicle and the suspect, who still had one man captive in the car.

Around 6:30 a.m., State Police informed Patrolman Brown that the suspect was en route through Blue Ridge. When he spotted the vehicle, Patrolman Brown pulled it over. As he approached the car, the suspect fired, mortally wounding Patrolman Brown.

The suspect drove away but was apprehended in Blairsville that night. The suspect, 23, had been released from a Milledgeville Mental Hospital a year earlier but was released when doctors believed he knew right from wrong. On January 15, 1960, he was convicted of Patrolman Brown's murder and sentenced to death, dying in the electric chair on January 20, 1961.

Patrolman Brown had served in law enforcement for 11 years. The Blue Ridge Police Department had only two officers, so he worked seven nights a week. He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, parents, and siblings. One of his brothers was a police officer with the Jasper Police Department.