NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — There’s a fine line between our personal and professional lives.
The line in this story happens to be thin and blue.
They’re known for saving countless lives Christmas morning as a bomb detonated in downtown Nashville. The brave officers are now known as the Nashville six, but NewsNation affiliate WKRN has since learned there was a 7th hero that day: officer David Snowden.
“I’m not a person who takes home to work with me and by that same token, I don’t bring work home with me, but unfortunately, on that Christmas morning I had no choice,” officer Snowden said.
It was a Christmas filled with chaos for both first responders and those living on 2nd Avenue. Both happen to apply to officer Snowden.
“Just a few minutes after 6 a.m. my fiancé woke me up and she said there were sounds of gunshots,” officer Snowden said.
The off-duty officer grabbed his radio and called his colleagues; it was then he knew something serious was going on.
“Listening to the voices of the other officers, I understood that they were immediately trying to evacuate the area,” he said. “Having those access codes, that was the first thing that I thought about was that those individuals weren’t going to be able to be notified [about the bomb] because police weren’t going to be able to get in those buildings,” officer Snowden said.
Since Snowden lives in the area, he has a lot of contacts and knows a lot of the entry codes to nearby buildings. He started relaying those codes to fellow officers, hoping to save lives.
Moments after he hung-up the phone, the bomb exploded.
“The bomb detonating felt like someone had kicked me in the chest,” he said. “We were on the fourth floor at 2nd and Commerce and still felt the pressure from it. The alarms were going off, the entire apartment was filled with dust, mortar and debris.”
He grabbed his radio again, hearing the role call. Thankfully, all fellow officers surveying 2nd Avenue were okay.
“Those guys and gals…they’re heroes,” he said. “You have to pardon me because I’ve become emotional thinking about Christmas morning; it will never be the same. Thinking back to that day, I know that my life has changed forever. I know the life of my family, my fiancé and of course and my fellow co-workers.
Despite the hardships, officer Snowden says he continues to choose this job every day and is proud to protect and serve.
“I think it’s helped me regain my sense of purpose and the calling of a police officer and working for MNPD.”
Due to the bombing, officer Snowden was displaced from his apartment, but we’re told he should be able to get back in within the next few weeks after some repairs are made.
On January 27, all seven central precinct officers, including officer Snowden, will be honored as WKRN Gives Back Hometown Heroes of the month.
