Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer Billy Watson was shot and killed when he walked into a robbery-in-progress at the Peachtree Mall at 3131 Manchester Expressway in Columbus. At 2:00 a.m., a patron at the Final Approach Lounge drew a gun and was robbing the waitresses and a customer when Officer Watson entered the establishment to ensure they were closing. The subject turned around and shot Officer Watson in the head and chest, killing him instantly. A man who had entered the bar with Officer Watson was struck three times. The subject took Officer Watson's gun and grabbed a waitress, using her as a shield as he fled the bar. While he exited the mall, he fired into another bar, Brer Rabbit's, hitting one of their bartenders with his barrage of gunfire. He forced the waitress into a car and drove into Alabama. The suspect was apprehended in Alabama three hours later. When officers stopped his car, his hostage was able to run from the vehicle. The suspect had begun his nine-hour crime spree earlier that night in Macon, Georgia, when he was involved in a fight with another man over $20. He shot and killed him and wounded another man before robbing a bar and then driving to Columbus, where he killed Officer Watson. He had planned to travel to Florida to kill his estranged wife. He was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of armed robbery, one count of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to death and executed on January 24, 2002. Officer Watson was a United States Navy veteran and had served with the Columbus Police Department for six years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter, his father, and three sisters.
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-GA-5EE3F0AE- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Police Officer Watson gave the Columbus Police Department 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Billy Ray Watson, Sr. served in the Navy (1951â1955) before joining law enforcement.
Police Officer Billy Ray Watson, Sr. is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In GA, 548 of 903 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.7% of this state's fallen. That is 6.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Columbus Police Dept., 19 of 26 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 73.1% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Billy Ray Watson, Sr.'s cause is highlighted.
How Billy Ray Watson, Sr. Compares
Offender Outcome
Executed in 2002
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Billy Ray Watson, Sr. is highlighted in Dec.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Billy Ray Watson, Sr. was killed by handgun; .38 caliber.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
25 officers from Columbus Police Dept. are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
