A Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy was hospitalized because of an early Monday morning assault.
According to investigators, Deputy John Thompson was assaulted when he approached two men near a field, located near A Avenue and Spruce Drive, at about 2:45 a.m.
The men fled from Thompson, who chased and caught one of the men, 10TV’s AJ Smith reported.
Investigators said that one of the men struck the Thompson over the head, allowing both men to escape.
“We know we had a lot of burglaries, we know we know they were walking around at 2:30 a.m., we know as soon as they saw John and he got out of his car to have a conversation with them, the chase was on, we know that he tried to stop one of them to say, ‘I want to talk to you,’ and at that point, he was assaulted,’” Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott said.
Scott said that deputies found the unconscious Thompson because his flashlight was still shining.
“It took, you know, five or six minutes, for other people to get around that area to try to find him,” Scott said. “They were able to see a flashlight that was coming from the field, and that’s how they knew to find him. He was unconscious at that time, so that was the only reason they found him when they did.”
Scott said that because of budget issues, the number of deputies on the street have been limited, taking a while for backup to arrive, Smith reported.
“It’s very frustrating, only due to the fact of dealing with these staffing levels,” Scott said. “It makes me upset. I’m just very thankful that our deputy didn’t get severely injured.” Thompson, who has been with the department for more than 12 years, was transported to Grant Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, Smith reported.
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Man Assaults Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy During Chase
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