Lieutenant James Ronnie Woodard, 46, was killed in the line of duty in the early morning hours of October 9, 1991. A Metro Nashville Police Department lieutenant with eighteen years of service, Woodard stopped a car he suspected was stolen after the vehicle pulled into the bank parking lot at 747 Fessiers Lane. As he approached the car the suspect opened fire. Woodard was critically wounded, managed to return fire and struck the suspect in the buttocks, and was found beside his patrol car by a passerby who used the police radio to call for help. He was taken to a hospital and died about thirty minutes later.

A 28-year-old man was taken into custody roughly two hours after the shooting. He was later convicted of Woodard’s murder and given a life sentence; his first parole eligibility is set for 2026. Lieutenant Woodard was survived by his wife, six children, his parents, four siblings and four grandchildren.

If anyone has information about Lieutenant Woodard, his family, or the events that night, please share what you know.