OAKLAND, Tenn. - Authorities are investigating a West Tennessee police officer's story about his badge stopping a bullet fired at him on Christmas Eve.
The Commercial Appeal in Memphis reported the Fayette County Sheriff's Department has been called in by Oakland police to help them investigate the claim by Officer Joshua Smith.
Sheriff's Department Insp. Raymond Garcia confirmed that the county agency, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.
Smith told his superiors he stopped a sport utility vehicle with out-of-state license plates on U.S. 64 on Dec. 24 and said the driver shot him in the chest after a passenger swung a knife at him. Smith wasn't seriously injured.
Oakland Police Chief Keith Hogland was not immediately available for comment Friday morning.