Brother of THP trooper shot looks to reform laws on repeat, violent offenders
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Senseless. That’s the word those closest to State Trooper Adam Cothron are using to describe a tragedy.
It has been almost a week since he was shot during a traffic stop on the interstate, and he is still recovering in the hospital. Even though Adam was temporarily sidelined by the encounter, he hasn’t stopped working. Adam and his brother have since started to work towards making meaningful change.
“I got a phone call from my mom,” remembered Grant Cothron.
RELATED: Second man in custody in relation to THP-involved shooting
Grant explained that it’s a call all law enforcement officials know could happen at any moment, but that doesn’t make it less of a surprise.
“Well, I’m a law enforcement officer. So that call is to be expected sometimes. But you never truly expect it to be your brother, your family, somebody that close to you,” Grant said. “We see it all the time, but unfortunately, this hit a little closer to home.”
His brother, Adam, pulled over a vehicle on Interstate 40 in Putnam County on July 22 when shots were fired at him. Then, a manhunt for the shooters began.
“To have it end like this on a simple traffic citation — it’s senseless,” Grant said.
That crime that led to days of searching from law enforcement across Tennessee and even over state lines. Both suspects, Braze Rucker, 29, and Timothy Davis Jr., 25, were taken into custody.
However, the Cothrons were left with questions.
“After this happened, having some conversations with Adam bedside, some conversations got brought up and they’re conversations that need to happen,” explained Grant. “But the biggest question that we want to raise is: Why are these guys out to be able to do this kind of violence, to do this kind of crime?”
During a press conference after the last arrest, Metro Police revealed that Rucker was convicted of second-degree murder in 2016 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. The following year, he was convicted of aggravated assault and especially aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
“Some of their history, their lengthy history, their violent history, these guys, it’s been reported that they have had some pretty serious convictions,” Grant said. “What happened? Where did this fail? We have these guys who are allowed to be out on the street to do this kind of stuff to our law enforcement officers.”
In July, a new law went into effect called the ‘Back the Blue Act’. The act made the penalty to a Class E felony, which carries a mandatory minimum 60-day sentence and $10,000 fine.
“This has gone on too long, there are news articles out there every day that there is somebody that’s fallen victim to something that happened, somebody dropped the ball, somebody let somebody out, some legislation failed and it’s my mission to look to change that. To make it stronger,” Grant explained.
“Deputy Greg McCowen out of Blount County, it was a traffic stop,” Grant said. “Just like with Trooper Cothren, it was a traffic stop.”
Earlier in 2024, Deputy Greg McCowan was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the 4900 block of Sevierville Road. The suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Kenneth Dehart. Warrants have been issued charging him with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and being a felon in possession of a handgun.
It would later be revealed that Dehart was convicted in 2005 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on the weapons charge, records showed. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison. DeHart has also been in the custody of the state prison system, Tennessee Department of Correction records showed.
“I want to just make sure this is clear, this is not just about law enforcement officers, as a nine-plus year veteran of law enforcement I see this every night I go to work,” Grant explained. “There are crimes that we work all the time on the street that involve everyday citizens. They’re falling victim to the same stuff that we’re seeing these officers fall victim to.”
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Grant has already reached out to a lawmaker for help in ways to create change focused on repeat offenders.
“Evil is out there, and it doesn’t matter how safe you are, it’s going to happen to somebody, and what we are trying to prevent is it happening to anybody else,” he said.
Grant also gave an update on his brother, telling News 2, that Adam Cothron is doing well. Grant also mentioned that his entire family is thankful for the prayers they have received.
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