MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. -- The only officer in a small town in Virginia's Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties was killed in the line of duty Friday night.
State police said Brodnax Police Chief Joe Carey was hit by a pickup truck while he trying to get a dog out of the road on Route 58. Carey was taken to an area hospital where he died of his injuries.
Brodnax Mayor Don Dugger remembered the chief as a "very caring" 40-year law enforcement veteran who had "a very people-centered way of doing things."
Dugger said the 66-year-old Carey really cared about everyone in the community.
"He helped any and everybody that he could. He went above and beyond," Dugger said. "He was a little bit old school, but old school in a very gracious way. And I think most of the messages that you hear are people that speak to how kindly he was."
Col. Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield Police Chief and president of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said Carey died trying to make people safer.
"He's trying to get an animal out of the street to keep the streets safer for all of us to travel on and he dies doing it," Katz said. "I think it's one of those things... people that go out and help others without regard for their own well-being and safety. I think that's the thing that makes them heroes."
As the community mourns the immeasurable loss, Katz said he and his fellow law enforcement officers will step in to do whatever they can support his family, the town and the community.
"It's our job now to step in, because our brother can't. It's our job now to step in and provide as much solace and consolation as possible," Katz added.
Carey is survived by his wife, four sons, a daughter and several grandchildren.
"I ask that you keep his family and colleagues with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time," Dugger wrote.
Police said alcohol was not a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
