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The End of Watch Ride to Remember van made an appearance at the steps of Chambers County Courthouse in LaFayette this week to honor one of the county’s fallen, Deputy J’mar Abel. Sheriff Jeff Nelson and his deputies met to welcome the rolling memorial and honor their lost comrade.

Abel passed away in a motor vehicle accident during a high-speed chase with a suspect on June 20, 2022. He left behind a son and a daughter with his fiancée. He had served as a sheriff’s deputy for two years.

Though Abel served under the previous sheriff, Sid Lockhart, Sheriff Jeff Nelson said, “It was really nice for them to honor Abel in the way they did and to come up here like they did. It was really, really neat.”

The organization, Beyond the Call to Duty, has taken the van across the country honoring first responders lost in the line of duty. Unfortunately, that number is high with over X faces and End of Watch (EOW) dates stamped to the side of the van.

Starting in Washington state, the van travels for 73 days around the country making stops along the way to commemorate the sacrifice of each fallen law enforcement officer and thanking their departments for their service.

The group wasn’t able to make their trip last year, so they added last year’s stops to their itinerary, including Abel’s. Unfortunately, Jasmine Gaddist, Abel’s fiancée, had a scheduling conflict and couldn’t attend.

Nelson said it was an honor to have the group out and enjoyed getting to spend the afternoon with them. Though both the sheriff and the Beyond the Call of Duty group hope they won’t have to meet again, he was glad that 20 of his deputies were able to come out for the event.

“We’ll never forget,” Nelson said. “… I don’t want the young officers to forget, because you got to understand and realize that tomorrow is not promised to any of us.”

“That’s the number one thing — not just in honoring him, but honoring him by not getting hurt in the line of duty. That’s the biggest honor I think he can give him where he can take his sacrifice and learn from it.

The organization also sponsored motorcycles, and Nelson said the sheriff’s office could submit an essay describing how they would use it to honor Abel and have a chance to win one. He said if they win it, he hopes to use it for parades and training his deputies. 

Nelson said he hopes to start a plague at the sheriff’s office honoring all the deputies that his office has lost, including Abel.