Robert Leonard had joined the police pressure in December. (File)
A 35-year-old US police officer was discovered useless on the backside of a river on Thursday, a day after he made his first ever arrest. The our bodies of Robert John Leonard, a newly-appointed deputy sheriff in Tennessee, and the lady he arrested have been recovered from the river together with the police automotive.
On Valentine’s Day, the police officer responded to a 911 name a couple of man and a girl combating on a bridge round 10 pm. The girl was then taken into custody by Leonard who was driving her again to the police station.
Quickly after the arrest, the officer despatched a celebratory textual content to his spouse sharing the information of his first arrest however her response to him was by no means delivered. Leonard’s final message to his police station talked about “water” earlier than the 2 went lacking.
A search was launched later that evening after makes an attempt to contact Leonard failed. Police used satellite tv for pc monitoring to find the automotive and on Thursday, it was pulled out from the underside of the Tennessee river. The physique of Tabitha Smith, the lady arrested by Leonard, was discovered contained in the automotive.
The automotive’s driver seat window was rolled down and the policeman’s physique was discovered close to it on the riverbed. It’s not recognized how the automotive plunged into the river however police imagine Leonard was texting and speaking on the radio whereas driving down an unfamiliar highway.
Leonard had joined the police pressure in December. A protracted-time building employee, he had not too long ago moved to Tennessee along with his spouse and 5 kids to satisfy his life-long dream of being a police officer, his obituary learn.
“It is a onerous time right here for us right this moment. One thing we do not ever take care of right here in Meigs County. We’re a small, rural county, we’re not used to it,” Meigs County Sheriff’s Workplace Chief Brian Malone instructed native media.
