Trooper Involved Shooting in Henderson County
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A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper was rushed to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, Wednesday night, after being shot in the chest during a traffic stop in Henderson County Trooper Dwayne Stanford, 27, of Lexington, was reported in stable condition late Wednesday. His bullet proof vest is credited with saving his life. A spokeswoman with the THP said at 5:21 p.m., Trooper Stanford told dispatch he had pulled over a car with Kentucky tags near mile marker 115 on westbound I-40. The female driver was a wanted woman. However, the spokeswoman could not say what charges the female faces or where she is wanted. The THP says Trooper Stanford arrested the woman and put her in the back of his cruiser. It was as he was walking back to the vehicle he had pulled over, that they say a male passenger got out of the car and started shooting. That man, whose name has not been released, was fatally wounded by Trooper Stanford. As his call for help went out, officers from around the around flooded to the scene. “We had several including myself respond, along with Highway Patrol,” said Henderson County Sheriff Brian Duke. “I believe even Decatur County responded along with the Park Service.” In 2010, Dwayne Stanford was not only named Trooper of the Year by the THP, but was honored by the Jackson Exchange Club with its Officer of the Year Award. He joined the Department of Safety and Homeland Security in 2002 as a communications dispatcher and was later commissioned as a State Trooper in 2007. He has been assigned to Henderson County since 2008. Trooper Stanford earned the Trooper of the Year honor after locating a juvenile who was kidnapped out of Maryland on February 13, 2010. Trooper Stanford received an AMBER Alert notification and began immediately searching for the suspect’s vehicle, locating the suspect within 20 minutes. Stanford is a native of Lexington. His father is also a trooper. His grandfather is a retired trooper.
