Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer Richie Odum died as a result of contracting COVID-19 while performing his duties as a tactical instructor with arrest powers at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center at 108 Sunshine Road in Savannah.
Officer Odum had served with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center for 10 years and had previously served with the Appling County Sheriff’s Office and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Officer Richard Larry Odum died on February 10, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 57.
He is one of 884 officers honored here.
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 his wife and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-GA-10A48273- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Officer Odum gave the Georgia Public Safety Training Center 34 years.
Thank you for your service to the Forsyth community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Officer Odum.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Officer Richard Larry Odum is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In GA, 63 of 903 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%.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Richard Larry Odum's cause is highlighted.
How Richard Larry Odum Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Richard Larry Odum is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Georgia Public Safety Training Center are honored on badge.nw.