Six officers killed in the line of duty memorialized on The Murfreesboro Post

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Six officers killed in the line of duty memorialized

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By: Lisa Marchesoni

Posted: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:28 pm

Survivors of a Murfreesboro Police officer killed in the line of duty presented a plaque to Murfreesboro Police Department during the annual Peace Officers’ Memorial Day ceremony.

Pat McKnight, sister of Officer Joseph “Butch” Tomlinson, presented the plaque of appreciation to Chief Glenn Chrisman on behalf of her family and Tomlinson’s widow, Dee.

McKnight said the family wanted to thank the department for its care of them after her brother’s death.

Tomlinson, who was killed in a car crash on duty 10 years ago, was one of six police officers killed in the line of duty in Rutherford County.

Officers killed in the line of duty were:

• Murfreesboro Police Officer Herbert McClanahan, who was shot and killed Dec. 16, 1946 at the police department.

• U.S. Deputy Marshal Samuel Enoch Vaughn, who was shot and killed Aug. 8, 1953 with his own duty weapon while transporting two convicts to Atlanta.

• Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Lewis Raymond Hendon, who was killed June 15, 1957 in a traffic crash while transporting blood to Rutherford Hospital.

• Tomlinson, who was killed on-duty in a traffic crash Oct. 28, 1999 on South Church Street.

• Murfreesboro Police Motor Officer Kay Rogers, who died in a traffic crash Nov. 9, 2005 on Middle Tennessee Boulevard.

• Murfreesboro Police Capt. Byron Motley, who was off-duty July 22, 2006 when he drowned while saving a relative during a family gathering.

Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg said he was reminded of the police officer’s duty during the Good Friday tornadoes when they “went into harm’s way” to help people. Bragg thanked first responders, police officers, firefighters and all emergency services employees.

Bragg thanked taxpayers for providing support to the emergency agencies.

Keynote speaker Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess said men and women who wear the shield protect and serve their community.

Freedoms and rights enjoyed by Americans come fro the men and women who are willing to serve.

“I am truly grateful for that,” Burgess said.

There is no greater calling that serving others, he said.

Like Bragg, Burgess recalled Kori Bryant and her daughter, Olivia, who were killed in the Good Friday tornadoes.

“We are reminded how brief life is,” Burgess said.

Sheriff Truman Jones, Tennessee Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell, U.S. Marshal Denny King and Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold all thanked the survivors for the ultimate sacrifice their loved ones gave in giving their lives to others.

Tagged under Dave Mitchell, Denny King, Ernest Burgess, Glenn Chrisman, Kevin Arnold, Tommy Bragg, Truman Jones

Member Opinions:

By: devolver on 5/14/09
I'm sorry to nit-pick here...but you know me...

"Murfreesboro Police Capt. Byron Motley, who was off-duty July 22, 2006 when he drowned while saving a relative during a family gathering." Not really in the line of duty...

By: Dave42 on 5/15/09
He was doing what came naturally for a police officer which is to serve the community wheather it is for his relatives or anyone else.

By: RespectTheLaw on 5/15/09
devolver: I find your comment to be totally insensitive. While this man was not in the line of duty he did what he had been trained over and over and over again to do — preserve life when it is in trouble regardless of time, place or relationship of the victim. It is a disservice to this great man's memory for you to say what you've said here today. Your comments also do a disservice to this man's family and to his surviving brave friends at the Murfreesboro Police Department. Please think before you make insensitive comments. There are still people out there — namely his family and surviving friends — who are hurt by your words.