Chief of Police James Edward Giddens

James Edward Giddens

Chief Giddens was shot and killed after being abducted by three robbery suspects. Chief Giddens had stopped a vehicle that was speeding. Unbeknownst to him, the three suspects had just committed an armed robbery in Adel, Georgia. After abducting the chief, the suspects drove around trying to figure out what to do. The told Chief Giddens they were going to let him go and that he had to swim into a river so they had time to drive away.
As he followed their instructions and swam away one of the men shot him in the back with his own service weapon. The suspect then entered the water and shot him several more times. The three suspects were eventually apprehended. The shooter was executed on May 18, 1989. A second suspect died in prison in 1978.
Chief Giddens had only been with the agency for one year and had also served as a Lowndes County Sheriff's Department prior to becoming chief. The night he was killed was supposed to be his last night with the department as he had turned in his resignation. He was survived by his wife, son and two daughters.