Officer Edward L. Tarkington, 22, was killed while on duty in Nashville on the evening of December 17, 1978. A Metro Nashville Police Department officer with just over a year of service, Tarkington was speaking with a burglary victim at 12th Avenue North and Jo Johnston Avenue when a neighbor of that victim intervened and a heated argument began. The neighbor, whom Tarkington had previously arrested twice for operating illegal gambling games, produced a .45 caliber handgun and exchanged fire with the officer. Tarkington was struck in the neck and died; the shooter was also wounded but survived.

The man responsible for Tarkington’s death was never convicted of murder. His only recorded federal sentence related to the incident was one year for being a felon in possession of a weapon. Tarkington left behind a wife, his mother, and a brother who later became a Metro officer as well.