Clarksville veteran with Alzheimer’s punched by police officer during arrest in Kentucky

Warning: The video may be disturbing to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

GUTHRIE, Ky. (WSMV) - A Clarksville veteran with Alzheimer’s was punched by police during an arrest in Kentucky in early December, and WSMV4 has obtained video of the incident.

In early December, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued a Silver Alert for 61-year-old George Henderson after he wandered away from his Clarksville home. Later, he was found at an Exxon gas station in Guthrie, Kentucky, just over the state line about 10 miles from where he was last seen.

Arrest documents obtained by Clarksville Now detail the altercation at the gas station. The attendant saw Henderson getting into their car and attempted to remove him. After being unsuccessful, the attendant called 911.

Later, an officer arrived and attempted to speak with Henderson. He told the officer he didn’t know where he was and the officer assumed that he may have been under the influence of something.

In the body camera footage, you can see Officer J. Pritchett take Henderson’s arm behind his back. The 61-year-old then wrestled with him before the officer took him to the ground. According to arrest documents, Henderson bit the officer’s hand.

The altercation continued to escalate and then in the bodycam footage, the officer punched Henderson in the head. That’s when he became unconscious and the officer arrested him.

Henderson received a cut behind his ear and had to get stitches.

In a statement from Guthrie Police Chief Dean Blumel, he said their department did not know the Silver Alert out of Tennessee, “It was not dispatched to our dispatch. Based on the information Officer Pritchett had that was available to him, and the circumstances that were presented during the interaction, Officer Pritchett handled the matter consistent with his training and departmental policy.”

An attorney for the Henderson family, Jeremy Stochaj, released the following statement:

“George is an honorable man who sacrificed his health in service to this country, and to see him treated with such horrible indignity at a time of vulnerability is an injustice for which people must be held accountable.”

The family also released information and a statement to WSMV4. Henderson served 29 years and was deployed six times overseas before eventually retiring from the military in 2018 after head injuries and PTSD from combat began to worsen. He has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease that has worsened over time.

His wife, Kimberly, said she’s grateful for the help she received from Clarksville police, “People need to know that Clarksville Police Department, especially Officers Joshua Spain and Jan Salcedo, but others as well, went above and beyond to provide support to our family during this crisis and vigorously searched for George. Unfortunately, Guthrie Police Department was across state lines abusing George on a gas station floor. We are deeply upset that the system so miserably failed him in this time of need.”