Left to right, top to bottom: Officer Amanda Topping, Officer Brenna Hosey, Officer James Wells, Officer Michael Sipos, Officer James Luellen, Sgt. Timothy Miller (Photo: Metro Nashville PD)
The Metro Nashville Police Department has recognized six officers for evacuating the residents of the neighborhood affected by the Christmas Day bombing, before the massive blast.
The officers recognized include according to WKRN:
- Officer Brenna Hosey, who has been with the department for 4 years
- Officer James Luellen, who has been with the department for 3 years
- Officer Michael Sipos, who has been with the department for 16 months
- Officer Amanda Topping, who has been with the department for 21 months
- Officer James Wells, who has been with the department for 21 months
- Sergeant Timothy Miller, who has been with the department for 11 years
Officer James Luellen was the first to arrive on Second Avenue North in on Christmas morning to a call of shots fired, CNN reports.
When he arrived, he didn't hear any shots. As he was investigating, Officer Brenna Hosey arrived to back him up.
As soon as she got out of the car, almost immediately, the RV started making an announcement," Luellen, a three-year veteran of the Nashville police force, told reporters on Sunday. "Somewhere along the lines of, don't quote me exactly, but, 'There's a large bomb within this vehicle. Your primary objective is to evacuate.'"
Not long afterward, that RV would explode, knocking Luellen off his feet, damaging dozens of businesses and injuring three people -- but not before Luellen, Hosey, and other Nashville officers went door-to-door to get nearby residents out of harm's way.
