BATON ROUGE — A stretch of Airline Highway was officially unveiled Monday morning as the “Jackson, Gerald, Garafola, Tullier Memorial Highway,” honoring the memory of four men who died in the line of duty in July 2016. The designation follows a bill introduced earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry on June 10, 2025.
July marked nine years since a very dark day in Baton Rouge’s history, the day four men sacrificed it all to protect Baton Rouge: Montrell Jackson, Matthew Gerald, Brad Garafola Sr. and Nick Tullier.
The men responded to the Benny’s Car Wash on Airline Highway on July 17, 2016 when a gunman ambushed them. The gunman was later shot and killed by BRPD officers.
During Monday’s ceremony, Montrell Jackson’s son, Mason, who was only four months old when his father was killed, helped unveil the new memorial sign.
For Trenisha Jackson, Montrell’s widow, watching her son reveal the sign was a deeply emotional moment. “Just him being able to honor his dad’s legacy and keeping the memory alive, I just love it for him,” she said.
Mason told UWK, “I loved it, and I love how it has all of the names. It felt really good.”
Trenisha was one of two women who worked to make the memorial highway a reality. The other was Tonja Garafola, wife of Brad Garafola Sr.
“Between Trenisha and (me), life happened,” Tonja said after the bill was signed. “It was our idea, but Trenisha was the one to push it through and did the legwork to get it done.”
“I just want to make sure he’s always remembered. I can’t forget so I want to make sure the world can’t forget,” Trenisha added. “I’m so excited about today. I’m overjoyed.”
For Tonja, seeing the memorial sign unveiled was “everything.”
“It meant honor and respect, and it means never forgetting what happened that day,” she said.
Their daughter Braley Garafola said the sign represents a positive way to remember the fallen heroes. “Driving through here, it’s just another piece of memory that’s not sad. It’s to honor, to love, and to remember. I’m just happy to know that not only do we remember, but the world’s going to remember as well.”
She added that seeing Mason unveil the sign was a “full-circle moment,” a reminder of how much time has passed since the ambush.
“It just made my heart so full,” Braley added.
Sammy Garafola, who was about six years old when the ambush happened and is now a high school senior, reflected on how much she’s grown and learned since that day.
“I didn’t know much of what was going on then, but now I know a lot more,” she said. “You’ve got to honor your family. Time goes by fast, and before you know it, something could happen.”
She described seeing the sign unveiled as a moment of “acceptance.”
“I know it happened, and I can accept that it happened. But it’s also about honoring that it happened — and not forgetting.”
Officer Chad Montgomery, who also responded to the scene that fateful July day, said this marker has been a long time coming: “This needs to have happened a long time ago. Every time we pass by, we look; we know what happened. But now everyone who passes by here can see the heroes that lost their lives here.”
While it took him years to be comfortable with returning to the scene, Montgomery can now do so without hesitation. He knows that his four fellow brothers would want that. This memorial sign helps to honor their memory, he said.
“It’s sacred ground for our brothers who were lost here.”
At the end of the ceremony, members of each family received a smaller plaque identical to the official roadway sign, a permanent reminder that their loved ones’ sacrifice will never be forgotten.
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