The Associated
Press
July 14,
2003
NASHVILLE - Former Mount Juliet Police Sgt. Jerry Mundy, one of two
officers killed last week when a Maryville woman plowed into them in a stolen Mercedes-Benz,
was remembered for his faith in God, devotion to his family and enthusiasm for his work.
Nearly 1,000 fellow officers, friends and family members bid farewell to
Mundy on Saturday at Two Rivers Baptist Church.
Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe recalled the day he hired Mundy as a
deputy in 1982.
Mundy had no experience in the field; he was doing ironwork at the time. But
Ashe said he hired him because of his enthusiasm and his smile.
"He worked three months and caught two armed robbers," Ashe said. "He
jumped up and down, he was so excited."
Mundy, 43, along with Wilson County Sheriff's Deputy John Musice, 49, died
Wednesday after they were rammed by the speeding Mercedes. The two men had just placed a
spike strip on Interstate 40 at Mount Juliet in an attempt to bring a safe end to a high-speed chase.
The driver, 21-year-old Fallon Tallent, who has an extensive criminal history
in East Tennessee, faces two counts of felony murder, two charges of premeditated first-degree
murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
Dorothy Cash,
33, of Knoxville, was a passenger in the Mercedes.
Musice was cremated Thursday, and a memorial service for him was held
Friday.
On Saturday, nearly 30 police motorcycles and several hundred police cars
guided Mundy's procession through Mount Juliet.
Residents lined the streets, with many placing their hands over their hearts or
waving American flags.
At the cemetery, officers honored Mundy with three volleys of fire. Three
helicopters flew overhead, and each Mount Juliet city employee laid a red rose on the coffin.
For the last time, a dispatcher asked for Mundy three times over the police
radio before declaring
.
