Assistant police chief receives life-saving heart transplant

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — Wonderful news in Crockett County as a local official receives a life-saving organ transplant.

Donnie King is the Assistant Chief of Police in Bells. He is loved by many and has dedicated his life to serving multiple different communities in our West Tennessee area.

Not too long ago, King was not feeling too well at work and decided to get checked out.

“It was discovered that he was in heart failure and needed a heart transplant,” said Stephen Sutton, Crockett County Public Information Officer. “He was admitted into the hospital in Nashville. They were able to put in some interventions and therapies to help his heart perfuse his body. As they progressed through those interventions, he went higher on the list for a heart transplant.”

It was a long surgery that began Sunday night to give King a new heart.

“This morning, we heard from Donnie’s family, his wife specifically, they were able to see him this morning for the first time since the surgery,” Sutton said. “He’s awake and talking, and laughing, and he looks great, he’s doing great. He’s in some pain obviously, but he’s doing great.”

Eric Jordan, Mayor of Bells, spoke with us about how much King means to their small town.

“He is very important to the City of Bells and to the community,” Mayor Jordan said. “Chief King, he works good with all the departments in the county. And Haywood County, because, like I said, he worked over there for 4o-something years before he retired and he worked here at the same time. So he worked two full-time jobs. He is dedicated to what he does.”

The support has been tremendous from people who know and love King, and they are super excited for him to come back home.

Donations at Bells City Hall are continuing to be taken up, and all of the money will go to Chief King and his family.

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