Deputy Earns Jerry Anderson Hero Award from NAACP

A Rutherford County Sheriff’s deputy who saved a gunshot victim’s life was honored Saturday by the Murfreesboro Branch of the NAACP.

Deputy Nathan Smith earned the Jerry Anderson Hero Award during the NAACP’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast.

Jerry Anderson was a former NFL football player from Murfreesboro. He sacrificed his life while saving two boys from drowning May 27, 1989 in Stones River near Warrior Drive.

Smith was parked Aug. 14 at the Handlebars bar on East Main Street when he heard people arguing.

As he approached, he heard multiple sounds of a handgun being fired. He found a victim who suffered a gunshot wound to his upper abdomen.

Smith relied on his past training and swiftly applied a chest seal to the wound to stop the bleeding.

Emergency Medical Services paramedics took over medical treatment and the victim was flown by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The victim survived.

Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh commended Smith for his actions.

“Deputy Smith’s actions to stop the bleeding immediately contributed to stabilizing the victim,” Fitzhugh said. “I am proud of Deputy Smith for his response in saving the victim’s life.”