CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The family of a former Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputy is fighting to have his death declared the direct result of injuries he sustained on the job.
Randy Dale Paddock graduated from Tennessee Law Enforcement Training on May 29, 2013, and began working as an MCSO deputy.
During his time as a deputy, he received awards from both the County Mayor’s Office and various other organizations in 2017 for his role in saving the life of a 4-month-old baby.
On April 25, 2020, Paddock responded to an accident that involved a vehicle and a utility pole, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 4 in Montgomery County Chancery Court by his estate.
Paddock tried to help move a utility pole off of the vehicle and the pole fell, according to Sheri S. Phillips, an attorney for the family.
“It knocked his feet out from under him, and his head hit the pavement,” Phillips told Clarksville Now.
Following the incident, Paddock began having seizures from the head trauma, according to Shane Pate, another of the family’s attorneys.
He died on Aug. 24, 2021 – a year and four months after the incident.
While the state Medical Examiner’s Office has given an opinion that the death was caused by those injuries, according to the lawsuit, MCSO has refused to make that determination.
“We are simply asking the court to make the determination if the cause of death was the related to the accident. If it was, then the family members are entitled to certain survivor benefits,” Phillips said.
Pate said the two surviving family members who would receive benefits are two sons, ages 18 and 16.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment.
County Attorney Tim Harvey told Clarksville Now his office cannot comment on pending litigation.