Former BPD officer shot in DeSoto County

By John Howell
One of the two DeSoto County deputies injured by gunfire during an arrest attempt Wednesday is former Batesville policeman Hunter Garrett, BPD Deputy Chief Jimmy McCloud said.
Garrett and Deputy Brandon Hutchens, alerted by a BOLO alert following three armed robberies in DeSoto County Wednesday night, confronted the occupant of a suspect vehicle on Stateline Road behind Heartland Church about 9 p.m. When the suspect jumped from the vehicle officers pursued. “He opened fire on both of them and the officers returned fire and killed him,” District Attorney John Champion told Memphis Channel 5 News.
Champion described the officers as “very, very brave.”
The injured deputies were transported to Memphis’ Regional One Medical Center for treatment. Garrett had been released by Thursday morning. Hutchens, struck in an area of his chest not protected by his bullet-resistant vest, “is going to make a complete recovery,” DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco told Channel 5.
Kevin Washington, 52, a parolee who had spent much of his life in prison has been identified as the dead suspect. He is believed to have been involved that night in two armed robberies in Horn Lake and one in Southaven. McCloud said that he is awaiting further developments to learn if the same person might be connected to last week’s armed robbery of Little Caesars Restaurants in Batesville and Horn Lake.
Garrett served as a BPD patrolman from Aug., 2008-Aug. 2009 after completing an internship with BPD through Ole Miss. He is the second former Batesville officer to have been injured by gunfire recently. On January 16, former Batesville policeman Donnie Dotson was shot in Coffeeville during the robbery of a convenience store where he worked.