By Kristi E. Swartz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CALHOUN, Ga. — A former Calhoun police officer was killed Monday in a suicide attack in Afghanistan, the Calhoun Police Department has confirmed.
Wayne Willard, a member of the Calhoun Police Department in northwest Georgia from 2001 to 2008, was killed at a police training camp in Kandahar, according to a news release.
“Sergeant Willard was a loyal, dedicated law enforcement officer as well as a true patriot,” Calhoun police Chief Garry Moss said in a statement.
A police officer inside the compound told The Associated Press that four assailants attacked the training camp. Two of the assailants detonated their explosives immediately.
Willard was one of two people who died in Kandahar on Monday.
Willard was a patrol officer with the Police Department until 2005. He then was promoted to sergeant of the department’s special response team. He also was a training officer and regional bomb squad technician, according to the Calhoun Police Department.
“Sergeant Willard was a visionary and prepared our officers for the future task they would encounter,” Moss said in a statement. “Sergeant Willard brought not only his police training but his military training as well to the department to share with all law enforcement officers.”
Copyright 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution