NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A convicted felon was arrested for allegedly threatening the police officer who put him in jail the first time.
Six years ago 44-year-old Orlando Garrett pulled a gun and shot a man Metro Police Officer Nate Ellsworth was questioning. Officer Ellsworth returned fire and shot Garrett twice. Eventually, in court Garrett pleaded guilty to attempted 2nd degree murder. He served a year in prison and was released on probation.
Garrett didn't forget what happened, because last month police say he called dispatch and left a message threatening to kill Officer Ellsworth.Detectives tracked him down through his cell phone number over the weekend.
Fraternal Order of Police Robert Weaver says it's not the first time a Metro Police officer has been threatened, and it won't be the last. Some threats are taken more serious than others.
"I know of one detective who specifically has been targeted based on investigation and they, the group targeting him did some homework and found out what type of vehicles he drove," said Weaver.
Sergeant Weaver says it's a risk that comes with the job. He says another risk the public doesn't hear too much about is that chance encounter on the street on or off duty.
"It can be a little alarming it depends how the situation played out originally," he said.
The officers sometimes get extra patrols around them and even their home. Garrett is back in the Metro Jail after officers arrested him on Murfreesboro Pike.
He was charged with retaliation, and held at the Metro jail on $10,000 bond.
