A veteran and well-respected University of Georgia police officer was killed Tuesday evening in a two-vehicle collision in Jackson County.
Jeff Whitfield, 56, was on his way home to Jefferson when his car struck another vehicle while rounding a curve. He was pronounced dead at the scene and the other driver was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a Georgia State Patrol spokesman who said the collision was under investigation.
A police officer for more than three decades, Whitfield had a unique and varied career both within and outside of UGAPD.
He was a U.S. Army medical evacuation helicopter pilot who ferried wounded soldiers during the first Persian Gulf War. He served as an FBI special agent investigating violent crime and then running down leads in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
As coordinator of UGAPD’s Crisis Intervention Team, Whitfield helped students who were distraught or experiencing mental health issues.
“I was always impressed with how much he had done in his life,” said Athens-Clarke County Deputy Police Chief Justin Gregory, who once served with Whitfield at UGAPD.
“Jeff was truly one of the nicest individuals I have ever had the privilege of knowing and serving with,” said Gregory, who was Whitfield’s supervisor at the university police department.
Whitfield grew up in Jefferson, and after graduating from Jefferson High School, served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, working as a jet mechanic at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
He was hired by UGAPD in 1982 and within six years had risen to the rank of lieutenant. After leaving the Navy Reserve, Whitfield put in for a helicopter flight slot with the Army because of his experience working on jets. He went on to serve as a medevac pilot from 1988 to 1992 and flew missions during the first Gulf War.
After the war, Whitfield earned a degree in criminal justice. He applied with the FBI, but there was a hiring freeze at the time.
In 1992, he rejoined UGAPD as administrative lieutenant and a year later took the position of chief of police in his hometown to replace the retiring Jefferson chief.
Whitfield also served as deputy chief of the Bibb County Board of Education Police Department. Just one month into that job, the FBI called and asked Whitfield if he was still interested in becoming an agent.
During his first five years with the FBI, Whitfield investigated crimes of violence that included kidnapping and murder. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, Whitfield was the resident agent in Dothan, Alabama, where he tried to spot unusual or suspicious behavior among pilots from around the world who received training at the Army’s nearby Fort Rucker.
He also assisted in the FBI’s investigation of anthrax spores being mailed to the offices of various media outlets and to two U.S. senators.
When Whitfield completed his stint with the FBI, he returned to where he served as patrol lieutenant.
A former high school track and field star, Whitfield helped officiate several meets a year, including the boy’s all-classification state track meet in Jefferson. He regularly competed in age-group track meets, and participated three times in the World Police and Fire Games.
Whitfield is survived by his wife, Cindy, and two grown sons, Tyler and Kevin.
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