Print Issue: August 1, 2002

DeKalb Officer Ann Guinta Killed In Line Of Duty

Members of the DeKalb County Police honor guard carry the coffin of Officer Ann Guinta into Corpus Christi Church, Stone Mountain, for her July 24 funeral, attended by more than 1,000 police, family members and friends. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

STONE MOUTAIN - Officer Ann Marie Guinta, who relished her work as a DeKalb County police officer, and who brought a smile to everyone she met, became the first female on the force to die in the line of duty.

The parishioner of Corpus Christi Church, and mother of a 6-year-old son, Nicola Amie, was killed July 20 while responding to a call of a fight aboard a MARTA bus. While in route on North Decatur Road, her patrol car swerved to avoid a vehicle in the left lane and then crashed in a ravine, overturned and struck a tree. She was 33.

The funeral Mass, celebrated at Corpus Christi on July 24 by Father James E. Curran, CMF, parochial vicar, was attended by hundreds of law enforcement personnel and friends of Officer Guinta. She had also worked at Crawford Long Hospital.

Her friend, Stephanie Ladenburger, the godmother of her son, said she met Ann in 1991 when both were starting out as young adults and working in the same restaurant. Officer Guinta moved to Atlanta from upstate New York.

Her friend was strong and vibrant, hardworking and always positive, despite having to struggle with difficulties, such as those that came later with being a single mother and sole breadwinner, Ladenburger said.

"She was very outgoing . . . always upbeat and friendly to everyone, always had a joke, always funny. She could be really sad inside, but other people would never know it. She always hid that."

"She has always been single. She struggled because she didn't have a lot of money . . . She really wanted to go into the police force. She had to take lots of tests. It finally came to fruition."

Like the bright red lipstick she was famous for wearing and the family recipes she loved to cook, Officer Guinta was strong, Ladenburger said. Her work in law enforcement was full of the raw human drama that she found challenging and interesting.

"I know she was attracted to the edginess of it, always something different in a call, never quite knowing what it would be. But she could handle it, you know."

Officers salute as the funeral hearse of Officer Ann Guinta pulls up to the entrance of Corpus Christi Church. The 33-year-old officer and mother was killed July 20 when her patrol car crashed as she was answering a call.

She realized her dream five years ago in August 1997, working in DeKalb's central precinct and prior to that in the south and Tucker precincts. She had received three commendations for felony arrests, said Sgt. Patrick White, including one for the arrest of an armed robber. Her precinct commander, Maj. Ron Dykes, had planned to ask her to become his assistant.

In addition to her ongoing police work, she was the first to volunteer to serve in other ways, he said. "She volunteered to do crime analysis on the weekend. She volunteered to do code enforcement."

"You could come to work having a bad day and as soon as you saw her your day would be brighter," said Capt. Steve Waites.

The day of the accident, Officer Guinta was on her way to one call when the more serious call went out on the police radio about the fight, Sgt. White said. When a call like that goes out, other police in the area often automatically respond because it could be a life-threatening situation and officers could need back up. "The better officers go right away . . . She was doing a good job."

Officer Guinta was also devoted to her son, intent on building a strong spiritual life for him, as well as a good home life. She was a familiar face at Corpus Christi, where she was often seen at Mass, in or out of uniform, and she and her son participated in the family religious education program, which includes a weekly family dinner and simultaneous classes for parents and children. Although she recently moved to Lilburn, she loved the diversity at Corpus Christi and continued going there, her friend said.

"She was trying really hard spiritually . . . I know she had faith and she prayed. She really wanted that to be part of Nico's life," Landenburger said. "I really want to look out for him now. That's important."

Father Jim Curran, CMF, celebrates the funeral Mass, assisted by Deacon John McManus, left, and Deacon Hilliard Lee.

In his homily, Father Curran, who has family members in law enforcement, said in a tragic circumstance such as this it is human to ask why, even though such a question is unanswerable.

"We do know that in such circumstances the first heart that breaks is God's," he said. "We are children of a broken-hearted God, who gave us his only Son."

"It is obvious that Ann viewed her work as much as a vocation as a job," Father Curran said, bringing into situations of conflict not only a desire to protect life, but to promote and foster life.

Those in police work "really do lead a risky existence," he observed later.

"I looked out at hundreds of police officers, especially the younger ones. You could see the somber expressions on their faces, some holding back tears, some not."

The church was full "and then some," he said. The police Emerald Society bagpipers played as the funeral cortege arrived at the church and later at the cemetery.

There was a fly-over by police helicopters and then a loudspeaker announced a final radio call: her name, then 10:42, off-duty. Those who came back to the parish were served a meal prepared by parishioners and police departments. Gini Eagen, parish director of pastoral services, mobilized several dozen parishioners who worked with the DeKalb County Police to extend hospitality to the officer's family and law enforcement personnel, Father Curran said.

An educational fund to benefit her son has been established. Donations earmarked for Nicola P. Amie may be made to the Bank of America, 3819 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30032.