Roll of Honor
Incident
Correctional Lieutenant Michael McKinnie died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 while serving at the Jimmy Autry Correctional Institute at 3178 Mt. Zion Church Road in Pelham.
Lieutenant McKinnie had served with the Georgia Department of Corrections for 21 years.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Correctional Lieutenant Michael McKinnie died on September 10, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 56.
He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 12 at Georgia Department of Corrections.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
Survivors
He is survived by two daughters.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-16284F9A- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Correctional Lieutenant McKinnie served with the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Thank you for your service to the people of Georgia. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Correctional Lieutenant McKinnie.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Correctional Lieutenant Michael McKinnie is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In GA, 63 of 905 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 7% of this state's fallen. That is 7 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Georgia Department of Corrections, 12 of 38 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 31.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Michael McKinnie's cause is highlighted.
How Michael McKinnie Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Michael McKinnie is highlighted in Sep.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
37 officers from Georgia Department of Corrections are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
