Church Prays for Friendship Police Chief’s Recovery
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A West Tennessee police chief is still recovering in a Memphis hospital, after investigators said he was shot during an armed robbery. Residents honored Friendship Police Chief Bill Garrett all day Sunday through prayer and said he is their hero. Family and friends in Friendship said they are still shocked, Garrett was injured in an armed robbery. “Unbelief, I mean this is Friendship for goodness sakes,” said Marian Heathcott, Garrett’s mother-in-law. Now residents said they are pulling together with prayer blankets for the Garrett family. “They are blankets that the church prays over and presents to people who are sick or shut in or in need like this,” said Tommy Mcelyea, Garrett family pastor. Mcelyea said the blankets symbolize Chief Garrett’s bravery. “He did things that were above and beyond his call of duty, and for that reason, we honor him, ” Mcelyea said. He was honored for protecting customers in the Dollar General Store Friday, wrestling a gunman to the floor and being shot in the process. “It went through his body, but it didn’t do a lot of damage, no crippling or anything like that, it just nicked his liver,” Heathcott said. Friends and family said that when the robbery occurred, Chief Garrett was off duty shopping with his wife, Daphne. Residents said they believe, it was his fast reaction, laying his life on the line, that made him a hero. “He didn’t have to that, he was not in police clothing, no gun or anything like that, but he did it to protect others. He did it because it was his job,” admitted Mcelyea. “I hope that people will realize that literally every cop, whether it’s in a small town or a city, puts their life on the line when they step out the door,” said Heathcott. “I want him to know how proud we all are of him. We consider him a hero, ” said Mcelyea.
