In the summer of 1999, a tragic series of events unfolded in Marietta, Georgia, culminating in the death of 32-year-old Cobb County Police Officer Stephen Gerard Gilner. A seven-year veteran of the department and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Gilner was part of a SWAT team responding to a volatile domestic situation on July 23rd. The incident began when a man, completely unprovoked, assaulted a neighbor and then shot and wounded the first officer who responded to the scene.
As the
situation escalated into a standoff, the Cobb County SWAT team was called to the residence near the intersection of William Paul Drive and Randy Court. The suspect had barricaded himself inside the home and was holding his mother hostage. After hours of negotiations failed, the SWAT team made the decision to enter the house. During the entry, the suspect opened fire on the officers with a shotgun.
Sergeant Steve Matthew Reeves was the first to be struck by the gunfire. In a heroic act, Officer Gilner entered the line of fire to pull his fallen comrade to safety. As he was aiding Sergeant Reeves, Gilner was also shot and critically wounded. Both officers were rushed to a local hospital, where Sergeant Reeves succumbed to his injuries shortly after midnight. Officer Gilner passed away on July 24, 1999. A third officer was also wounded during the exchange of gunfire.
The standoff continued into the next morning when the suspect was shot and killed by a sniper with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office's SWAT team as he attempted to escape from the residence. The suspect, identified as Greg Smith, was killed during this second raid. Officer Gilner was survived by his wife and 22-month-old daughter.
