Family, Friends, Public Safety Workers Pay Tribute To 7-Year-Old Deputy Tater Singleton

Deputy Shawn Giles of the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says he and his fellow law enforcement officers deal with bad things no one else in society wants to.

“After a long period of time, this builds a very big black cloud,” Deputy Giles said, “but then here comes this 7-year-old ray of sunshine that you cannot help to love. That every time he talks to somebody, he puts a ray of light in their heart.”

Deputy Giles was referring to his young partner, little Gabriel Singleton, better known to the citizens of Whitfield County simply as Deputy Tater after he became a celebrity of sorts when he was sworn in as an honorary deputy last December, fulfilling his dream of becoming a lawman. 

The two officers became a frequent sight around the county over the past several months as they took rides in the patrol car, participated in special programs at local schools, and even traveled to Savannah earlier this summer to meet The Rock, actor Dwayne Johnson.

Sadly, Tater passed away on July 30 (12 days shy of his eighth birthday on Aug. 11) after a five-year-long battle with cancer, and during his funeral on Aug. 3, he was remembered  by Deputy Giles, Sheriff Scott Chitwood, two preachers, and his mom, Lulu Singleton, for that ray of sunshine he brought to everyone he met in his too-brief time on earth. 

Dozens of other public safety personnel from Whitfield County, Dalton, and Murray County also turned out for the services to honor one of their own, and 34 sheriff’s, police, and Georgia State Patrol cars, along with at least five fire trucks and two ambulances, their lights flashing, slowly escorted his procession to the grave site in West Hill Cemetery. 

In addition, the sheriff’s office Honor Guard also lined up to salute Deputy Tater as his casket was carried out of the Church of God of the Union Assembly on Highway 41 and again as it was carried into the cemetery for graveside services.

“I say it to Tater, as he’s watching us today,” Deputy Giles told the crowd of mourners, “I promise you each time one of your brothers or sisters put on their uniform and put on their badge, we will take that ray of sunshine out and we will fight the good fight and I promise you we will always be brave and strong.”

Being brave and strong was important to Tater.

Asked why he wanted to become a police officer after taking his oath of service from Sheriff Chitwood just before Christmas last year, Tater – wearing a custom class A uniform made especially for him - had responded, “Because they’re brave and strong.”

Sheriff Chitwood reflected on that ceremony during the funeral service, recalling that the oath he administered to Tater emphasized qualities like honesty, trustworthiness, courage, being fair to others, and treating others the way you wish to be treated.

“Tater always talked about being brave and strong, but you know, Tater probably would be the strongest officer we’ve got because he was battling a fight that most of us cannot identify with,” the sheriff said. “We can’t even imagine what that young man went through in his eight young years of life … what he battled.”

Sheriff Chitwood has been sheriff for 23 and a half years and has lost seven officers during his six terms, including two in the line of duty.

“I have all their pictures up on the credenza behind my desk,” he said, “and I look at them every day – every day I look at those officers.”

Now he will be adding an eighth photo, that of Deputy Tater, to that shelf “because Tater like the other officers had served this community with courage and respectability and he like the other officers was brave and strong.”

Deputy Giles recalled taking Tater with him to make his first “arrest.” 

After getting confirmation from the sheriff’s office that their “suspect” had warrants out on him, Deputy Giles turned and said to his new partner, “You know what that means, Tater, you’re gonna have to go and arrest him, and  he looks  up at me with those big, scared eyes and I said, it’s time to be brave and strong, brother, it’s time to be brave and strong. I said, I’ll go with you.”

Deputy Giles drew laughs from the audience telling about how he escorted Tater to meet The Rock, and how on the way back home, the two of them decided that Tater’s mom enjoyed meeting the handsome, muscular actor way more than they did.

“I have everybody coming up to me, saying man, thank you guys, thank  you Shawn, thank you to all the sheriff’s office for what you’ve done for Tater,” Deputy Giles said. “And I will continue to tell them, we have done nothing for Tater – Tater has done everything for us.”

Tater’s mom, Lulu Singleton, honored her son with an inspired speech, praising him for never complaining, never crying, never asking why.

“Throughout my son’s journey, a lot of people have told me I’m strong and I don’t know how you do it,” Ms. Singleton said. “First and foremost, my strength, (my husband) Jesse’s strength, and the girls’ strength (his sisters Kaylie, Layla, and Aliyah) comes from God; we alone wouldn’t be able to do this.”

Calling it “a nightmare that we’ll never be able to wake from,” she says she is consoled knowing that she will once again hold her son in heaven one day.

“Yesterday as my heart was beginning to break, I could feel Gabriel with me,” she said. “I imagined him next to me, hugging me, smiling, looking up at me with his big beautiful brown eyes, as he has always done. I hugged everyone yesterday as tightly as I could because I know that’s what Tater wanted me to do. He would tell me, it’s okay. Tater wouldn’t allow me to be sad or cry, ever. He always made sure I was happy regardless of what was going on.”

Tater was praised by ministers Lamar Bond and Jeff Wilson for helping to spread the Lord’s gospel throughout his sickness, noting there is no telling how many people he helped reach.

“Tater fought cancer for five years, but you wouldn’t know by the way he looked each day,” his mom said. “Tater always had a smile on his face. As we went for his treatments, he would pray for the safety of not just us, but for everyone on the road and everyone at the hospital. He had a loving heart.

“After his procedures, he would always wake up from sedation smiling, never crying. He would tell me all about all of the angels that would come to visit him while he slept during his procedures. He told me once that three angels taught him how to rollerblade on the clouds. He told me that all the angels had big beautiful wings and they all had golden crowns that floated above their heads. During his final few days, when he would awaken from his sleep, he would tell me he had a special angel to come check on him to make sure he was okay. Now, my sweet Gabriel is one of those angels.”

She said Tater taught his family and friends what truly matters in life, “not to worry about the things that didn’t matter. He didn’t care about his sickness; he didn’t let it ruin his day. He was much too busy being happy, living life to the fullest.”

Some may think we didn’t get our miracle, his mom said. “But we did. Tater was our miracle. He brought our family closer to God, he inspired people to pray. God allotted us time to make each and every one of our son’s wishes come true. God blessed us with one more Christmas, one more Easter, one more Mother’s Day, one more Fourth of July, one more Father’s Day, one more adventure with Shawn, one more family vacation, one more year of being the best brother for our girls – almost five years in a row.”

She closed by saying: “Cancer, you didn’t win today. Tater did. Cancer can’t go to heaven. It can’t have big beautiful angel wings. But Tater can. We are so proud of you, son, and how you inspired so many people. We are so proud of how valiantly you fought, how brave you were throughout your life, how you never lost the faith and kept your eyes on Jesus. Thank you for teaching us to love more and to trust God more. You will be forever brave and strong.”