Tech Sgt. Henry Clay Taylor, a 68-year-old Louisville man who was shot and killed late Wednesday night by a Blount County Sheriff’s deputy checking the victim’s Mentor Road garage for suspected burglars.
PostalReporter.com was alerted about this tragedy by several readers :
Taylor started with USPS in 1987.
LOUISVILLE — A Blount County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a 68-year-old homeowner in a darkened garage Wednesday night maintained that he was confronted by a man armed with a handgun before he opened fire, authorities said.
Deputy Ernest Ti Ragland, 22, was conducting a property check at 1856 Mentor Road in Louisville following two reported burglaries at the rental property this week, according to a Blount County Sheriff’s Office news release.
At the same time, Henry C. “Joe” Taylor apparently was making his own check inside the garage.
Ragland “saw a broken window and went to investigate it, then shined his flashlight inside the building and saw a man with a handgun,” the BCSO news release states. “He told supervisors that he gave verbal commands, and fired multiple shots, striking Henry C. Taylor, 68, and killing him.”
Ragland, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since December 2012, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities have not yet said conclusively whether Taylor was armed, or whether a firearm was recovered at the scene. Likewise, they have not specified whether Ragland was fired upon.
Taylor served 20 years in the Air Force, and went on to work for another 20 years with the U.S. Postal Service in Knoxville. He expected to retire this December, the victim’s younger brother, Roger Taylor, said.
Asked whether Henry Taylor owned a firearm, his brother said, “I don’t know. As far as I know, he didn’t.”
Henry Taylor and his wife, Cindy, lived on Clear Springs Way, just around the corner from the rental property.
A deputy had taken a report Tuesday from Henry Taylor about several items stolen from the property, including an HVAC unit, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Ragland responded to the Mentor Road residence to take a report on another burglary. The deputy told Cindy Taylor he would continue to check the property throughout the night. When Ragland returned about 10 p.m., he encountered Henry Taylor in the garage.
“This is a very tragic incident,” Blount County Sheriff Jim Berrong said in a statement Thursday. “Deputy Ragland was performing the promised property checks on the residence, and both individuals reacted. We are all deeply saddened by the chain of events that took place last night.”
TBI agents now are working to determine exactly what happened during the confrontation, said TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm. Their findings will be turned over to the district attorney general for review.
Helm said the deputy was not injured during the incident.
Roger Taylor said his main concern is that a full investigation is made into what occurred at the Mentor Road garage.
“I’m really worried about a cover-up,” he said.
Kayla Croy, who lives behind the Mentor Road residence, said she heard a commotion outside moments before she heard gunfire.
“It sounded like arguing and then I heard gunshots,” said Croy. “It was a constant six of seven shots back to back.”
Another neighbor, LaTonya Revels, said she drove down her driveway past the Mentor Road property about 10 p.m. and thought she saw the flash from fireworks.
Minutes later, she was sitting in her vehicle in front of her mobile home when a sheriff’s deputy suddenly appeared.
“He told us to get in the house,” said Revels, “Then we heard more gunfire.”
reprinted with permission from Knoxville News
It’s a cover-up. Pure & Simple. This is from an ex-cop.
that would be rank not wants
Are you sure the picture is the right one for this article? The person pictured appears to be wearing Captains wants on his beret and he appears to be wearing an Army uniform
Steve … Steve… Steve…. you are a moron!!
Whenever the PIGS show up at your house your fucked…..they act like the KINGSMEN looting taxes…..It’s YOUR property…tell the pig leave your piece in the car…….remember the pigs work for YOU…tell them what to do…..And don’t kick a steroid cop in the nuts….they don’t have any
Chuck, I think the captains bars are from his Tennessee guard uniform
Interesting they call him a retired tech sergeant, but the photo is of a man with Captains bars! Cute, as usual journalists have no idea of rank in the military.
Let me put this out there before someone else with no brains does…”It was probably Managements fault”.
Captn Jack, what we got here is too many cowards with big guns instead of brains. check out Policethugs.com to see these heroes in blue in daily acton.
Captn Jack, it happens all too often unfortunately. Many of these police officers are poorly trained and are told to just shoot if you have any doubts.and most of the time, they get away with it.
Sounds like a frightened boy with a badge and a gun…