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Hamilton County deputy killed in crash remembered at Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Law enforcement officers conduct the presentation of colors during the annual Hamilton County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / Law enforcement officers conduct the presentation of colors during the annual Hamilton County Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.

By Mason Edwards May 15, 2026 4 min read

A little over a month after a Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy died from a vehicle accident, his family sat in the front row Friday for the 2026 Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony.

Around 11 a.m., as a gentle breeze and diffused sunlight filtered through nearby trees, Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett welcomed a crowd of civilians, law enforcement officers, elected officials and others to a sectioned-off block of Market Street in Chattanooga, next to the Courts Building.

The ceremony, observed as part of National Police Week, is a yearly tribute to law enforcement officers from several local agencies who have fallen in the line of duty, dating to the 1870s.

This year, state Rep. Greg Vital, R-Harrison, presented a legislative resolution honoring the memory of sheriff’s deputy Landon Faulkner to his family. Faulkner died in April after striking a disabled vehicle in a travel lane on Highway 111, leaving behind a wife and four children, according to his online obituary.