A tragic incident in Tennessee has claimed the life of a law enforcement officer over the weekend. Sergeant Rick Finley, a deputy with the McNairy County Sheriff’s Office who was also working part-time with the Selmer Police Department, was shot and killed while responding to a call about a suspicious individual on Saturday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 3 p.m. on New Bethel Road in Selmer. Police stated that the suspect attempted to force entry into a home and fired shots into the door.
When Sergeant Finley responded, he was physically attacked and then shot multiple times by the suspect. Lieutenant Ron Pilkington, another officer from the Selmer Police Department, returned fire, fatally shooting the suspect.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is now handling the case and the identity of the suspect has not been released.
Sergeant Rick Finley’s sacrifice highlights the dangers law enforcement officers face daily. His service and dedication to the community will not be forgotten.
A report from the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) found that 378 police officers were shot last year.
The number is a 60% increase from 2018 and a 14% increase from 2022.
Forty-six officers were killed by gunfire in 2023.
“There have been 115 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement officers this year,” the report says. “These ambush-style attacks have resulted in 138 officers shot, 20 of whom were killed.”
“Last year, over 330 police officers were shot in the line of duty. With the COVID-19 pandemic behind us and after so many Americans have seen the tragic consequences of the defund the police movement, it was our hope that these numbers would be a high-water mark,” said FOP President Patrick Yoes. “We were wrong.”
