Crime & Safety
Walton County Sheriff Helps Avert a Bad Situation
When a military veteran from Monroe was threatening to end his life Monday, Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman helped diffuse the situation and show him he had other options.
Having a sheriff with a military background turned out to be a godsend for a veteran of the Afghan war from Monroe this week.
When officials were called to a home in Walton County Monday, it was a situation that could have had a very different outcome. An Afghanistan war veteran from Monroe was armed and threatening to kill himself.
“His wife had left him and was taking his kid,” said Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman. “He had called some of his friends and they were concerned.”
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Walton County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and Chapman spoke to the veteran on the phone. Although the veteran was suited up in military gear and had his M-16 with him, Chapman said he felt that the man wasn’t looking to harm anyone, but was instead looking for help. While deputies secured the area, Chapman and a friend of the veteran who was from the Atlanta Police Department approached the house.
“We sat with him on the porch and spoke with him for about an hour,” Chapman said. “I told him he’d been dealt a bad hand with his wife leaving him and that, but you have to play the hand you’ve been dealt. You can’t let it affect you that way.”
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Chapman said they were able to get hold of the military unit that the veteran was from and have them come out to the property.
“He agreed to go with them for a mental health evaluation,” Chapman said. “Sometimes people just need to talk and have someone listen to them.”
The Sheriff said he was glad to help and thankful the situation ended the way it did. Chapman has a military background himself as well as two sons who served recently in combat - Jake who served in Iraq and Josh who served in Afghanistan.
According to his bio on the Walton County Sheriff’s Office website, Chapman served for six years in the U.S. Marine Corp before enlisting in the Georgia National Guard where he served 16 years and retired as the 178th Military Police Company’s First Sergeant. Chapman served as Camp Guard Commander, Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay Cuba in 2002 before joining the WCSO.
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