The award stems from an incident July 31, 2010 in which Officer Mansfield and other MPD officers responded to assist a deputy with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office who was taking gunfire from Dewjuan Henderson, 25, of Murfreesboro, on Joe B. Jackson Parkway.

Henderson had jumped into the back of a truck with a gun, threatened the lives of the occupants of the vehicle and then shot multiple times at a responding deputy.

During the incident, Henderson was shot by law enforcement and was still fighting the responding officers when K-9 TK successfully disarmed him, ending the confrontation.

“Officer Mansfield and K-9 TK helped bring an extremely dangerous individual into custody and may have saved the lives of both citizens and law enforcement officers on that July afternoon,” Chief of Police Glenn Chrisman said.

Officer Mansfield and TK are responsible for five physical apprehensions and 52 surrenders since TK was placed into service two years ago. Fifty-seven dangerous felons have been taken into custody as a result of their efforts, making our community a safer place.

Diesel is the same K-9 who bit Murfreesboro Firefighter Lance Sutton during a robbery pursuit earlier this month. Sutton is expected to make a full recovery and return to active duty in the near future. 

On Thursday, Feb. 3, Sutton was injured when Mansfield released the dog, to pursue a burglar. Murfreesboro police said the dog homed in on Sutton, who also was trying to catch the burglar.