The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is mourning the passing of its longest continuous serving member.
Sergeant Daniel Rush passed away Monday night at Northside Forsyth Hospital after he succumbed to complications from a recently diagnosed critical illness.
“Losing a member of the (FCSO) is my nearly sole fear,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said in a Facebook post. “I have personally known Daniel since before he began as a Dispatcher at FCSO in 1990. Sergeant Rush’s 35th anniversary with FCSO would have been February 8th.
“Sergeant Rush is a genuine hero. He was wounded in the line of duty in 2014 when he confronted a deranged gunman on the courthouse steps. His engagement of the gunman gave fellow deputies time to respond and protect those within the courthouse.”
Freeman went on to say that Sergeant Rush’s heroism was recognized with the FCSO Purple Heart award, and he was selected as the Deputy Sheriff of the Year for Valor for the entire State of Georgia in 2014 by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association.
“I would like to extend my and FCSO’s sincere gratitude and appreciation to Northside Hospital,” Freeman said. “They provided exceptional compassionate care and honored a hero’s farewell lining every hallway of Northside Hospital to pay their respects to a community hero.”
The FCSO is planning a memorial service for Sergeant Rush in the following weeks to come.
