Law enforcement agencies across Williamson County and Middle Tennessee gathered at The Franklin Theatre on May 8 for the annual law enforcement memorial service presented by the Morris Heithcock Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 41.

The event drew dozens of community members including family members of some of the county’s eight law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty since 1919. 

The memorial specifically remembered Williamson County Sheriff Milton Harvey Stephens (1843-1919), Constable Samuel Claybrooks Locke (1873-1925), Constable Andrew Mattison Sullivan (1887-1933), Constable Clarence Wesley Reed (1887-1944), Deputy Sheriff John Morris Heithcock (1940-1972), Spring Hill Corporal Jeremy Caleb McLaren (1981-2010), Brentwood Police Officer Destin Scott Legieza (1989-2020) and Franklin Police Officer II Jefferey Herndon Carson (1963-2022).

“We don’t want to remember how they fell, but how they lived, and the families that they have, the community that they served, and those that they loved,” FOP President Andy Green said.

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The wife of late-FPD Officer Jeff Carson places a rose in honor of Carson on a memorial wreath during the 2023 Williamson County FOP memorial service on May 8, 2023, at the Franklin Theatre.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti gave this year’s keynote address to the crowd of uniformed officers, deputies, state troopers and civilians who filled the theatre, while FPD Chaplain Sgt. Mike Stephens issued the prayer and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Becky Coyle performed the national anthem.

A special recognition was also made in memory of 21st Judicial District Attorney Kim Helper, who died in March after a brief illness.

“Kim was a true friend of law enforcement, she was a champion of law enforcement,” Brentwood Police Chief Richard Hickey said.

“In a world where the right thing seems to change with the direction of the wind, I appreciated the fact that she was so relentless about doing the right thing and finding the truth.”

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Tenn. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti speaks at the 2023 Williamson County FOP memorial service on May 8, 2023, at the Franklin Theatre.

“We’re here to remember and honor those who made that sacrifice and the families that they left behind,” Skrmetti said. “And I want to say thank you so much for all the burdens that you have borne. There are people benefitting that you will never meet that are given opportunities because of the sacrifices that your loved ones made and we as a people appreciate that, and we pray for your comfort.”

Following remarks inside the theatre, a procession of memorial attendees then walked the nearly quarter mile to the Franklin square passing under a large American flag hung across Main Street by two Franklin Fire Department ladder trucks as Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Pipe Major Kenneth Hiner performed “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes.

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The son of late FPD Officer Jeff Carson attaches a plaque with Carson's name to a law enforcement memorial on the Franklin square during the 2023 Williamson County FOP memorial service on May 8, 2023.

"The whole reason we were created was honoring our fallen," Hiner told The News. "Whenever I was able to start learning the pipes and the drums, it just really gave me an outlet to honor those people who go above and beyond and put their lives on the line to take care of us in their everyday jobs."

The crowd gathered on the square where the son of late-FPD Officer Carson affixed a plaque with his father's name to the county’s permanent law enforcement memorial. A closing prayer, 21-gun salute, the playing of “Taps” and the ceremonial end of watch then followed, which announced the fallen officers over first responder’s radio channel, their names calling out from the square.