Deputy Sheriff Robert E. Mayo

Robert E. Mayo

Deputy Sheriff Robert Mayo succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained four months earlier when he was shot while attempting to arrest two escapees, a man and woman, from the Dickson County Jail.

The male was a fugitive after having previously escaped from a jail in Connecticut while being held on an attempted murder charge. After escaping from the Dickson County Jail the couple broke into a home and robbed the owner before stealing a car. A Dickson County constable found the couple driving the car on Highway 49 the following day and initiated a pursuit.

The pursuit ended when the vehicle crashed as it rounded a curve approximately four miles east of Charlotte. During the ensuing manhunt a Dickson Police Department canine was fatally hot after locating the man hiding in a tree. Deputy Mayo heard the shots and was shot in the neck as he neared the area.

The subject was able to escape but was later shot and killed during a shootout with members of the Connecticut State Police.

Deputy Mayo was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War. He was the recipient of a Combat Infantryman Badge with star, Bronze Star, and Purple. He had served in law enforcement for 24 years.