Patrol Officer Herman M. "Curley" Rollins

Herman M. "Curley" Rollins

Officer Herman Rollins succumbed to a gunshot wound after responding to a disturbance at a cafe at 323 1-2 Walnut Street at 11:30 pm.

When Officer Rollins arrived, the armed owner ordered him to leave. When he returned with backup officers to arrest the owner, a female waitress shot him in the back.

He was transported to General Hospital, where he passed away from the wound to his spinal cord.

The 19-year-old waitress and the owner, a convicted felon, were charged with murder. The waitress pleaded temporary insanity and was acquitted.

Officer Rollins had served with the Knoxville Police Department for over two years and previously served as a constable. It was his first day back on patrol after serving in the Traffic Division. He was survived by his wife, two children, his mother, two brothers, and two sisters.