CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – An off-duty officer from Guthrie, Kentucky, was in the right place at the right time to stop a shooting in a bar parking lot over the weekend in Clarksville.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, July 5, Guthrie Police Officer Austin Richardson arrived at Mike’s Bar and Grill on Lowes Drive to take home some of his friends when he saw a domestic assault that quickly escalated into a shooting.
Guthrie Police Chief Dean Blumel said Richardson, one of his newest officers, responded according to his training, and his quick actions may have saved lives.
At about 2:45 a.m., multiple people called 911 about gunfire in the parking lot.
Henry Demetrius Shannon, 29, had pushed a woman down twice and dragged her across the parking lot, according to an arrest warrant.
When witnesses, including Richardson, stepped in to intervene, Shannon became aggressive, and the situation escalated despite efforts to calm him down.
Shannon retrieved two handguns and began firing. Bullets struck two vehicles, according to his arrest warrant.
Richardson said that after talks with Shannon failed, and with lives were in danger, he retrieved his gun. He gave several verbal commands and then fired at Shannon, shooting him in the arm.
Shannon was treated and released from the hospital before being booked into the Montgomery County Jail.
Shootings hard on officers
“That’s the way we are trained at the academy to deescalate a situation and hope that there’s no firearm involved,” Blumel said of Richardson. “He did a wonderful job, a great job trying to deescalate. I’m proud of how he handled himself and used as much restraint for as long as he did. We are trained to do so and he did a wonderful job and made sure more citizens were not hurt.”
Richardson joined the Guthrie Police Department in May 2019 after completing the police academy in October 2019. He served in the Marines prior to becoming a police officer and currently serves in the Marines Reserves.
“He was at the right place at the right time,” Blumel said. “He recently moved to Montgomery County and made a couple of new friends. They called him that night to give them a ride home and that’s where he was when everything happened.”
While many may laud Richardson as a hero, Blumel said for law enforcement having to use your firearm is unforgettable and not an easy moment.
“The thing about it is even off duty we are always a police officer. We always want to help,” Blumel said. “I’m glad to see he used good negotiation, but hate he had to go through that. … It’s something he’ll never forget, and we will help him through it.”
Shannon was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on charges of aggravated assault (domestic), two counts of domestic assault, vandalism and aggravated burglary.