BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
Information for group photo: Pictured from left to right, with Deputy Steve Adams, are Tonja Garafola, Adrienne J. Middlebrook, Trenishah Jackson, Brittiny McNeil, Becky Davis Anderson.
A chance meeting in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Autauga County Sheriff’s Deputy Lt. Steve Adams and his wife (he refers to her as Queen) Allison Seamon Adams had an amazing opportunity to bond with five lovely ladies, who know very well what the Thin Blue Line signifies.
What those five ladies have in common is tragic, as they are all widows of Louisiana officers killed, murdered is more accurate, in the line of duty.
Last week Steve and Allison were enjoying one of their regular trips to Gatlinburg. Steve was wearing a Thin Blue Line T-shirt as he walked around downtown.
“I was on the phone with Allison, and I hear ‘Excuse me…excuse me,’” Steve said. “I turned around and there is this woman I don’t know from Adam’s house cat. She said, ‘Can you explain your shirt to me?’”
Steve said he was immediately in “public relations” mode, not knowing how this conversation would go.
“With the climate we are in, you just don’t know where a person is coming from these days when it comes to police officers,” Steve said. “I had no idea what direction this conversation was going to go. But I sure wasn’t going to get into anything confrontational. I deal with that on the job as a part of my profession. I was on vacation.”
Soon four more ladies joined and surrounded him, so he began explaining the shirt.
“I told them about the Blue Line Jeep Ride we participated in a few years ago,” Steve said. “That is when they told me they were all wives of officers that were killed in the line of duty. And the whole conversation took a very different direction.”
Those five ladies were all from Louisiana and were Tonja Garafola, Adrienne J. Middlebrook, Trenisha Jackson, Brittiny McNeil, and Becky Davis Anderson. Their husbands were simply trying to do their jobs, maintain law and order, when they were cut down by cowards and criminals.
Steve exchanged contact information with the ladies, and a plan was made to meet the next day, with Allison joining them.
“I wanted Allison to meet them,” Steve said. “The poise and grace among these women was amazing. It is an understatement, really. Just how they conducted themselves. We talked about what led up to their husbands’ death. They told us that as part of the investigation, they had listened to the radio transmissions for the events that took their husbands’ lives.”
The night before their second meeting, Steve said he went back to the hotel room and looked up the officers’ names.
“I had seen their stories before. I had used some of them for safety briefing for my guys. It was just surreal to see those pictures again and know I had made contact with their spouses. It was just crazy….just nuts,” Steve said.
Steve and Allison learned that this group of women had originally planned to attend an annual camp for widows and survivors, but it had been canceled due to COVID-19.
“These ladies had met through the camp, and when it was canceled, they decided to go to Gatlinburg and have their own,” he said.
He really wanted to introduce Allison to the ladies, because on some level she understands deeply the pain of losing a police officer she loved. Her brother, Troy Seamon, was a longtime member of the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office. He died in 2016. He was found near his vehicle at his house unresponsive, but still wearing his official uniform after getting off work.
“In a sense, we can empathize, but Troy was not murdered. But we lost him. It was cathartic I think for all of us. The mechanism of Troy’s death was very different, but a loss is a loss,” Steve said.
Among the stories from the widows were that of a Baton Rouge PD officer and East Baton Rouge Parish SO Deputy that were ambushed and killed in one attack. Also, there were stories of a Lafayette PD officer, an East Baton Rouge Parish SO Deputy and a New Orleans PD officer who were killed in unrelated attacks.
See more information on the five officers from Louisiana below from the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Allison and Steve are now friends with the ladies on social media, and hope they will stay in touch.
“Where it goes from here, I have no idea. But I am optimistic we will stay in touch through social media. There is really no way to know if this will lead to more, but the simple fact they singled me out and approached me is pretty remarkable, simply because I had a Thin Blue Line Shirt on,” Steve said.
Steve said the Thin Blue Line goes way beyond race, and the crew could relate to each other, and share the pain for a moment in time, with a level of understanding not all can understand.
Was this a chance meeting or coincidence? Steve does think so. He believes there is a greater reason, even if he may not know the totality of the reasoning at this point.
While his wife Allison lost a brother when Troy passed, he said he lost also felt deep loss. He and Allison both have tattoos in honor of Troy.
Troy worked for 18 years with the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office. He started his profession as a first responder as a firefighter. He became a Reserve Deputy for Autauga County, attended the Reserve Academy in Bay Minette and went to work under then Sheriff Herbie Johnson.
“He died with his uniform on, doing what he loved to do,” Steve said. “He had turned into the ‘Office Rat,’ and did all of the communications, electronics and also served as the Sex Offender Registry Officer. Whenever something went wrong, it was always, ‘Where is Troy? Where is Troy?’
He was a catalyst that set up all of the communications, radios, and electronics. He went on a cruise with his family one time, and spent his own money on an internet package just to stay connected. He wasn’t made to do that, he just took it up on his own.”
Steve said that Troy was like a younger brother to him, but also a bigger brother, as “Troy was twice my size,” he said with a laugh.
Troy is buried in Liberty Baptist Cemetery on Hwy. 31. Through a lot of effort by Steve, Allison and Troy’s friends, a one-mile portion of Hwy. 31 was dedicated as the Sgt. William Troy Seamon Memorial Highway. There are also Mission Barbecue restaurants in Nashville and Chattanooga, TN that have a photo of Troy on the wall as a memorial to his service as an officer.
About the Louisiana Officers Killed in the Line of Duty:
From the Officer Down Memorial Page – ODMP.ORG
CORPORAL MONTRELL LYLE JACKSON, BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
End of Watch Sunday, July 17, 2016
Corporal Montrell Jackson, Police Officer Matthew Gerald, and Deputy Sheriff Brad Garafola, of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, were shot and killed by a subject outside of a convenience store at 9611 Airline Highway shortly before 9:00 am.
Officers had received reports of a subject walking along the roadway carrying a rifle. As responding officers arrived in the area they were ambushed by the subject. Deputy Garafola, Corporal Jackson, and Officer Gerald were killed and three other officers were wounded, including one who was critically wounded.
The subject was shot and killed by other responding officers.
Corporal Jackson had served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for 10 years. He is survived by his wife and infant son.
A foundation was established in his name and the website is mljfoundation.org
SHAWN THOMAS ANDERSON, EAST BATON ROUGE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
End of Watch March 17, 2017
Lieutenant Shawn Anderson was shot and killed at approximately 11:00 pm while investigating a rape.
He and another officer had gone to a salon at 1962 O’Neal Lane to interview the suspect. A struggle ensued during the interview in which Lieutenant Anderson was fatally shot.
The subject was wounded during the incident and taken into custody. He died from his wounds several days later.
Lieutenant Anderson was a U.S. Army veteran and had served with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for 18 years.
DEPUTY BRADFORD ALLEN GARAFOLA, SR., EAST BATON ROUGE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
End of Watch Sunday July 17, 2016
Deputy Sheriff Brad Garafola, Corporal Montrell Jackson, and Police Officer Matthew Gerald, both of the Baton Rouge Police Department, were shot and killed by a subject outside of a convenience store at 9611 Airline Highway shortly before 9:00 am.
Officers had received reports of a subject walking along the roadway carrying a rifle. As responding officers arrived in the area they were ambushed by the subject. Deputy Garafola, Corporal Jackson, and Officer Gerald were killed and three other officers were wounded, including one who was critically wounded.
The subject was shot and killed by other responding officers. Deputy Garafola had served with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for 24 years. He is survived by his wife and four children.
MICHAEL PAUL MIDDLEBROOK, LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT
End of Watch Oct. 1, 2017
Corporal Michael Middlebrook was shot and killed while responding to a shooting at a convenience store, near the intersection of Moss Street and Van Buren Street, at approximately 10:00 pm.
The call was originally dispatched as a person with a gun but was upgraded to a shooting. As Corporal Middlebrook arrived on scene a male subject opened fire on him, engaging him in a shootout. Corporal Middlebrook was fatally wounded during the exchange.
The man fled the scene but was later arrested and charged with first degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Corporal Middlebrook had served with the Lafayette Police Department for nine years and served with the U.S. Army as a military policeman. He was studying to become a pastor. He is survived by his wife, 3-year-old daughter, and two young stepdaughters.
A foundation was established in his name and can be found at middlebrookfoundation.com
MARCUS ANTHONY MCNEIL, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
End of Watch Oct. 13, 2017
Police Officer Marcus McNeil was shot and killed while investigating a suspicious person near the intersection of Tara Lane and Lake Forest Boulevard shortly after midnight.
He and three other officers had just exited their vehicles to investigate. Officer McNeil located the man nearby and attempted to speak to him. A struggle ensued during which Officer McNeil attempted to deploy his taser without the desired effect. The man then opened fire on Officer McNeil, killing him.
Responding officers shot and wounded the man, who fled to a nearby apartment complex. He was taken into custody after remaining barricaded for several hours. He was charged with first degree murder and several firearms and felony narcotics offenses.
Officer McNeil had served with the New Orleans Police Department for three years. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
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