Community remembers Wilson County officers killed on I-40, 21 years later

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tuesday marks 21 years since two Wilson County law enforcement officers lost their lives on I-40. Over two decades later, officers continue to pay tribute after they made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Today we will never forget,” Michael Mullins, Mt Juliet Police Chief said.

Mt. Juliet Police Sergeant Jerry Mundy and Wilson County Sheriff’s Deputy John Musice were laying down spike strips to stop a high-speeding pursuit on I-40 when the getaway driver killed them.

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Mt. Juliet Police Chief, Michael Mullins, was on the scene that day. “It was just disbelief at first I’ve seen some things I never want to see again and things that I wish I could forget that I saw,” Mullins said.

“I stood in this spot exactly three times since that day,” Trish Mundy Bolinger, Sergeant Mundy’s widow said.

On Tuesday morning, Sergeant Mundy’s widow, Trish, and dozens of law enforcement officers from Mt. Juliet to Wilson County came back to the exact spot to honor them both.

“I’ve always said that as much as this is for me, I want this for the officers who are still standing and serving, and I want them to know what their service means,” Mundy Bolinger said.

For years, Mundy Bolinger has been working with Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) to help families grieve after they lost a loved one in the line of duty.

“It’s counseling, retreats for whatever relationship you were with that officer, whether you were a spouse, in-law, a parent,” Mundy Bolinger said.

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It’s one way she gives back as the community continues to uplift her.

“It’s important for them to know that, no matter what happens, when they leave home in the morning and if they never return home, that this community won’t forget their families, won’t forget their coworkers, and will stand by them even 20 years later,” Mundy Bolinger said.

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