Merritt Public Safety Center

This week saw the opening of the Captain Raymond B. Merritt, Sr., Public Safety Center on 2nd Street.  The center, named after Captain Raymond B. Merritt Sr., a Tift County Deputy Sheriff who was killed in the line of duty on June 8, 1991, houses the E-911 Center as well as the Tifton/Tift County Emergency Management Agency.  

Captain Merritt was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call in 1991.  His widow Sue Merritt was on hand for the dedication as was their son Ray Merritt now a Captain with the Tift County Sheriff's Office and their daughter Jill Merritt a police officer with the Tifton Police Department.

The 10,000 square foot facility features an Emergency Operations Center where public officials can meet to plan for both man made and natural disaster response, an updated E-911 operations room as well as a media room.