Bulloch County Sheriff’s Deputy Reynaldo Rodriguez was promoted to corporal recently after having been chosen as the 2011 Deputy Sheriff of the Year by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association.
    Rodriguez received the honor July 20 at the GSA Summer Conference held at Stone Mountain, said Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.
    Most of Georgia’s 159 sheriffs, along with other guests, attended the conference, where Butts County Sheriff Gene Pope, GSA president and GSA Executive Director Terry Norris presented the award, he said.
    Rodriquez, a member of the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office for the past seven years, was nominated for his brave actions Sept. 29 when he shot and killed an armed suspect who had just shot a police officer in Statesboro, he said.
    “His courage and bravery in facing down an armed gunman, who moments earlier attempted to murder a City of Statesboro police officer, exemplifies the core values we expect from our deputies,” Anderson said. “His actions at that time likely saved his life, those of other peace officers, and innocent citizens. I am very proud of Deputy Rodriquez and of the work he does for the Sheriff's Office and for his service to the people of Bulloch County.”
    On that night, Statesboro Police Officer Charles Brown responded to a noise complaint at an apartment complex on the south side of town, Anderson said. “The apartment complex is located just off of U.S 301 (South) and is populated mostly by Georgia Southern University students.”
    Brown approached a man named Eric Pringle, the suspect who was the focus of the complaint. “Within moments of the contact, (Pringle) suddenly pulled out a handgun and shot … Brown. The shot knocked … Brown to the pavement. The shooter stood over Officer Brown and fired again, the bullet grazing his head.”
    Leaving Brown for dead, Pringle then fled on foot, running away from the scene, he said.
    “On patrol nearby, Deputy Rodriguez heard the initial call and began moving in that direction. Upon hearing … Brown's call on the radio that he had been shot, and that the armed suspect was running south, he responded quickly,” he said. Rodriguez was on patrol a short distance from the scene of the shooting.
    He pulled into a car lot to intercept Pringle and saw him run into bushes in front of his patrol car. Exiting his car, Rodriguez ordered Pringle to stop and drop his gun, Anderson recalled.
    Instead, Pringle made a “threatening move, and was promptly, and fatally shot,” he said.
    Other law enforcement officers arrived and secured the locations of both shootings while Georgia Bureau of Investigations special agents arrived to investigate, he said.
    “To his extremely good fortune, Officer Brown's body armor saved him from the first shot. The head shot was a grazing wound, and after being treated at the emergency room, he was released. He returned to duty a short time later,” Anderson said.”Deputy Rodriguez's quick, decisive and unhesitating response in this case saved his life, and likely the lives of other law enforcement officers and other innocent people.”
    Anderson said Rodriguez is one of the best deputies he has ever known and credits his “judgment and discipline” to 11 years of service in the United States Army where he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzoegovina and
    Hungary. He continues his service as a citizen soldier in the Georgia National Guard.
    “He is a devoted servant to the people of Bulloch County in his service as a deputy sheriff Rey has many commendations and letters of appreciation for his assistance to other law enforcement agents and agencies for his interpretation and translation skills. He is a calm, mature, dependable deputy whose skill and demeanor make him an asset that I am extremely fortunate to have.”
    Rodriguez, who is currently in Missouri   undergoing training for the National Guard, was not immediately available for comment.
    "Rey will be the first to tell you that he is no hero,” Anderson said. “I will be the first to tell you that if he is not a hero, then I don't know what one is. He is a person who goes to work every day, and quietly goes about doing his job as best he can, never seeking attention or reward.”

    Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.