Collegedale police officer accidentally fires department-issued AR-15 inside City Hall building

Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / The a clock tower in front of Collegedale City Hall is pictured Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Collegedale, Tennessee. Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / The a clock tower in front of Collegedale City Hall is pictured Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Collegedale, Tennessee.

By Rosana Hughes March 24, 2020 2 min read

A Collegedale police officer’s department-issued AR-15 was fired inside the City Hall building last week.

Officer Josh Booth was in the department’s armory at around 9 a.m. when he was “starting to look” at Sgt. Burlon Hayworth’s department-issued AR-15 assault weapon.

The weapon had already been taken apart when Booth received it, Booth wrote in an incident report.

“I attempted to do a weapon check,” he wrote.

But due to a rusted bolt, he was unable to clear the chamber.