Funeral Services Set For GA Officer Fatally Shot While Serving Warrant

CARROLL COUNTY, GA — A 30-year-old Georgia officer who was shot and killed last week while serving a Georgia Bureau of Investigation warrant in Carroll County is set to be buried Wednesday, according to his obituary.

Investigator Taylor Jaimeson Bristow, a Carrollton husband and father of two children, was serving the GBI warrant Tuesday in the 300 block of Don Rich Drive, the GBI said.

Bristow knocked on the door of 40-year-old Christopher Bly's home while serving the warrant, the GBI said.

Bly was accused of immediately going back into the home as deputies followed, and then, shooting a handgun and hitting both himself and Bristow, the GBI said. Bly was pronounced dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the GBI said.

Bristow was shot at the scene and taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and was placed in the Intensive Care Unit. Three days after Bristow was shot, authorities said he died Friday, "(leaving) this Earth and (gaining) his heavenly wings."

The warrant was from the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit. The GBI said agents found and seized multiple electronic devices within the home that contained child sexual abuse material.

Bristow was born on July 2, 1994 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, according to his obituary. He spent six years with the sheriff's office.

"He was all about the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Braves when he wasn't serving his community. His passion was working with children and animal abuse cases. He loved watching Noah (his son) play baseball while trying to coach behind the fence. Bella (his daughter) was his absolute princess. They had a special bond that was evident to everyone. Bo Duke and Daisy Duke, his dogs, were his sidekicks through it all, and true companions to him. He made a point to talk to his brother and best friend Hayden daily," read Bristow's obituary.

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The day Bristow was shot, his wife shared a statement via the sheriff's office's Facebook page, seemingly expressing she noticed the support received from others.

"We are fighting the good fight and appreciate every little and big thing," Melissa Harkins Bristow said. "It does not go without notice. I love you all and my words will never be able to form a true statement of what I feel inside. My heart is in a thousand pieces, right now, and I wish I had good news and a true update, but we are not out of the woods yet, and we need all the love, prayers and well wishes to continue. God is good and He is in control."

Authorities said Bristow served Carroll County with unwavering passion and a commitment to protecting residents. The sheriff's office has set up a memorial at its office with flowers, notes and tributes.

"As the sun rose this morning, the reality of our loss still feels unimaginable. The grief we carry for the passing of one of our own is beyond words, but we are grateful to be part of a community whose overwhelming support and love is just as immeasurable," authorities said shortly after Bristow's death via Facebook.

A funeral for Bristow will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Mount Holly Church (4685 Highway US-27 in Carrollton) with officiants Clay Patterson, Kim Hope, Sheriff Terry Langley and Chaplin Keith Jiles. Friends may visit family from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at Mount Holly, according to his obituary.

An interment will later follow at Kettle Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Waycross. Hightower Funeral Home of Bremen is overseeing arrangements, according to his obituary.

Donations can be made via West Georgia First Responders, authorities said.

The shooting of Bristow comes three days after Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute. Local authorities said the deputy was ambushed and was shot within 8 seconds of getting out of his patrol car.

The accused gunman, identified by authorities as 42-year-old James Samuel Atkins, took his own life, authorities said.