An unlikely message is helping bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community.
A group of inmates currently serving time in the Gwinnett County jail wrote a letter about Gwinnett Police Officer Antwan Toney.
Toney was shot and killed in the line of duty checking out a suspicious car.
11Alive's Christie Ethridge sat down with five of the eight inmates who signed the letter so we could read it together. They sat in a group in the middle of their unit inside the Gwinnett County jail. Inmates Larry Richards, Douglas Phillips, Leroy Dollar, Tarazzo (who didn't give his last name), and Carlos Tabb sat in their dark green jail uniform prepared to have a candid conversation.
The letter starts out "With all due respect. Dear Sheriff Conway, On behalf of myself and a number of fellow prisoners who are currently serving time in the Gwinnett County Detention Center, I wish to extend condolences to Officer Toney’s family and the G.C.S.O. brotherhood as a whole. "
"Why did you feel the need to write this letter?" Ethridge asked Leroy, who is the author of the letter.
"I'm a Christian. I felt led through the Holy Spirit," he said. "I just felt somebody should say something, so I wrote the letter and took it around and asked who would like to sign it during Bible Study and virtually everyone in the room at the time signed it."
"Why did you sign the letter?"Ethridge asked the men.
Carlos responded, "I felt for the officer so I thought I will sign it and pay my respect.
Carlos found out what happened through a phone call with his fiancee.
"It’s crazy because she said he didn’t even get a chance to make it to the car. They just started shooting. I mean, that’s not right. He didn’t deserve what happened to him," he said.
The letter continues by saying, "This was a tragic incident that never should have occurred."
Most of the men found out through a phone call with family.
"When I heard, I was like man that’s devastating. To lose a life is just devastating. He didn’t deserve it," Tarazzo said.
Then came one of the most striking lines in the letter.
"And though law enforcement and criminals may be considered opposites, the intrinsic value of a human life transcends those boundaries by far."
"He had a lot to offer, and we were all robbed of someone. He would’ve been an officer that would’ve been a blessing to us in here. I know that," Douglas said.
The letter continues, "Right is right and wrong is wrong. No matter the color uniform."
Vigil held for Gwinnett County Police Officer Antwan Toney
"Coming from such an unlikely source, I think it resonated because I’m an old retired bank robber. Been a crook all my life," Leroy said candidly.
"It don’t matter what color we are, what creed, what background, what your job title is. We all are humans at the end of the day," Tarazzo said.
The letter continues, "It is from this standpoint, in a spirit of gratitude and utmost respect that I submit this letter to honor all police officers, military personnel, and first responders. Your service and sacrifice make the world a better place for all. THANK YOU."
"Leroy, how long did it take you to write this letter?" Ethridge asked.
"Couple days. Couple days," he said humbly.
"You really thought about it," Ethridge replied.
"Yes ma’am," he said. "I ran it by a couple of the officers to make sure that the wording was respectful."
RELATED: ‘Badge 1808, we’ll take it from here’: Police send End of Watch call honoring Gwinnett Officer Toney
The letter goes on to say, "In tribute to your courage and dedication, we present this communication that may serve to bring healing, restoration, and forgiveness to the lives of all affected by the loss of this officer. Respectfully submitted."
Eight men signed it and on the back they included the Bible verse John 11:25: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
The letter finishes with this: "The following signatures on this page represent a group of Christian men who wish to express heartfelt condolences to Officer Toney's family and all Gwinnett County staff."
"How do you hope his family took this letter?" Ethridge asked them.
"I hope they really just took it to heart to know that it came from a couple guys that wasn’t doing it for this kind of exposure. We never even thought, I never even thought, it was going to get out the door," Tarazzo said.
"It wasn’t about us. It was about the family going through a really tough time," Larry said. "Wanted to give them a little bit of hope and let him know we cared."
"I just hope his family is doing OK," Carlos said.
The men know they're judged, sometimes with good reason, because of where they are, but they hope this letter gives an insight into their soul.
"The world's going to be a worse place because he's not still here," Larry said.
"We wanted to let them know that we wanted to bridge the gap between inmates and police officers to let them know we know not all y’all are bad just like not all of us are bad," Tarazzo said.
RELATED: 'I love you big brother': Officers remember the spirit of Gwinnett cop killed in line of duty
Gwinnett County Deputy Shannon Volkodav sat nearby as 11Alive spoke with the men. She released this statement from the Sheriff's Office:
The message of empathy and support from these inmates resonates with many people, including law enforcement officers. It’s meaningful that they’ve made the effort to acknowledge our community’s great loss, comfort Officer Toney’s family and express support for law enforcement and military personnel.
While they had no way of knowing that a private letter would garnish national attention, they are proud that their message of unity is being shared with many people. We hope everyone is listening.
