HOLLY SPRINGS, Ga. — Friends are describing Holly Springs police officer Joe Burson, who was killed Wednesday night while he was trying to make a traffic stop, as loving and beloved.
Burson, just 25 years old, is mourned across metro Atlanta as a man who loved his wife, his job, and his music.
“At a young age, he was an exceptional musician and drummer,” said Burson’s bandmate, John Ward.
Burson was a rock drummer, beginning in 2016 at the age of 20, with Rusted Soul. His four fellow musicians from Rusted Soul said his drumming was unique, exceptional.
“One of the best drummers in Atlanta,” Ward said.
They want the world to know Burson as they’ve known him.
“I didn’t know Joe as Officer Joe,” said Kyle Lake. “I knew him as not just a bandmate, or a husband, I know him as a brother. And there’s not another like him out there.”
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The band members played at Burson’s engagement to his fiancée, they attended the couple’s wedding, saying they consider Burson and his wife to be family.
“He’s loving, everything about Joe was loving,” said Zack Crider. “He loves his wife, he loves his job, he loves his music. I’ve never seen a man more passionate about his job and his music.”
“He loved his family,” said Rusted Soul’s front man Grant Hadley. “He was a good man.”
“The loss is so, so painful,” Ward said.
Burson wanted nothing more than to be a police officer. He joined the Holly Springs police department in January of 2020.
Late Wednesday night, he pulled over a driver for speeding. The GBI identified the driver as Ansy Dolce.
According to the GBI, Dolce then tried to leave, dragging Burson down the street, and Burson was able to shoot Dolce. They both died.
“If you had the ability to clone police officers,” said Holly Springs Police Chief Tom Keheley, “you would have wanted your officer to be Joe Burson.”
Burson’s wife posted, online, her message of mourning, along with photos of them together.
Tributes for Officer Joe Burson were nonstop from Thursday morning into Thursday night. Canton police officers, along with their chief, brought flowers to the memorial at the base of the flag, flying at half-staff, outside the Holly Springs Police Department.
They stood in a moment of silence.
Countless others also brought flowers, and cards, and many knelt in prayer.
A resident of Holly Springs, Lorena Morgan, with tears in her eyes, brought food for the department, and a homemade card from her students at Lyndon Academy.
"It was really hard. He’s one of our guys,” Morgan said. “I know that we can do more, but in this moment we just want to tell them, with a hug, hey, you’re not alone, we are here for you.”
The Friends of Holly Springs Police Foundation organized a fundraiser to support Officer Burson’s wife.
The group is inviting people to participate in a candlelight vigil for Burson. It will be Friday, June 18, at 8 p.m. at Barrett Park, 120 Park Lane, Holly Springs.