Sergeant Ricky Dale Coyle, a 41-year-old White officer with 16 years on the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and a U.S. Air Force veteran, was killed while investigating a hit-and-run on Stagecoach Road in Greeneville on September 25, 1995. During the inquiry he encountered a man who drew a weapon; both men fired. Coyle was hit by three bullets — one stopped by his vest, one that penetrated below it, and a third that entered his side and fatally wounded his spleen. He radioed for help, saying he needed an ambulance, but was later found slumped over his patrol car by an off-duty officer.

About 30 yards from Coyle’s vehicle lay the man he had been investigating, a fugitive wanted in Alabama on arson and other felony charges; the man had sustained five gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. With the suspect deceased, there were no arrests or trial related to Sergeant Coyle’s killing. If anyone has information about Coyle’s last assignment or remembered that area that night, please share what you know.