Rural Police Officer James Reuben Lee

James Reuben Lee

Rural Police Officer Reuben Lee was shot and killed while attempting to arrest two men at Chimney Rock for drinking in public.

Officer Lee observed the two men drinking whiskey on the rocks below the Esmeralda Pavilion and approached them to question them. When he asked the men if they were armed one of them took several steps back and opened fire on him with a .45 caliber handgun, wounding him. Officer Lee was transported to Rutherford Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds early the next morning.

Both men fled the scene but were arrested later in the day. The subject who shot Officer Lee was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years at hard labor.

Officer Lee had served as a rural police officer for Rutherford County for several years. He was survived by his wife, five children, father, and five siblings.