Sheffield Alabama Police Dies After Being Shot in the Line of Duty
Sheffield Alabama October 3 2021
Sgt. Nick Risner of the Sheffield Police Department has died from the injuries he sustained when he was shot in the line of duty on Friday in Muscle Shoals.
Sheffield Police Chief Ricky Terry released this statement Saturday morning:
“It is with a heavy heart that the Sheffield Police Department is sad to report that Sgt. Nick Risner, who was involved in the shooting in Muscle Shoals yesterday, has succumbed to his injuries this morning at 9:52 a.m. at Huntsville Hospital.
“We would like to thank the community and everyone who has prayed for Sgt. Risner, his family, and the Sheffield Police Department during this time.
“We are thankful for Sgt. Risner’s 8+ years of service with the Sheffield Police Department. Sgt. Risner performed a heroic act by protecting the Shoals Community from the shooter from entering the Walmart parking lot.
“If the shooter would have entered the Walmart parking lot, there is no telling how many lives would have been in danger or lost yesterday.”
Ask anyone in the Shoals and Risner, who worked with a police K-9, is a well-known, well-loved and well-respected officer in the Sheffield and surrounding communities.
A Florence native, he also served in the Army Reserves for eight years.
Sheffield Police Lt. Max Dotson also was shot Friday. He was treated at Helen Keller Hospital.
His vest protected him from bullets. He was discharged and immediately went to be with Risner, he told WAAY 31’s Breken Terry.
Authorities said in a press conference Friday evening that Brian Lansing Martin of Sheffield shot and pushed an individual out of a vehicle near the 800 block of Avalon Avenue. That individual has not been publicly identified, pending notification of next of kin.
After abandoning his victim in the street, Martin stole another vehicle. Sheffield Police spotted the vehicle and chased Martin back into Muscle Shoals, behind the Walmart on Avalon Avenue.
There, Martin and law enforcement officers from multiple agencies exchanged gunfire. Muscle Shoals Police Chief Clint Reck said a bullet came close to an officer’s face but no officers in his department were injured.
Sheffield Police weren’t as fortunate. Lt. Dotson was hit but protected from severe injury by his vest, while Risner was shot through his vehicle’s windshield.
Martin was also shot. He received medical treatment at the scene from officers before being transported to Huntsville Hospital, where he was in stable condition as of Friday evening.
