ABOUT US

On December 11, 1991, at approximately 3:00 a.m. on a cold night, an inmate housed in the Johnson County, TN jail escaped, making his way outside, where the patrol cars were parked. Terry Gregg, a Deputy Sheriff on duty, had been in the dispatch office and walked outside to get in his car to go on patrol. As he walked to his vehicle, he noticed a man hunkered down between the patrol cars. Not realizing he was an inmate, Terry approached him, asking what he was doing. The inmate attacked Terry and a fight ensued. During the scuffle, Terry’s right collar bone was broken, rendering his arm unusable, and as a result, the inmate was able to pull Terry’s firearm from his holster. As Terry realized he had lost his weapon, he sought cover around the corner of the jail building. 

Not aware of any of these occurrences, Allen Lipford was on patrol, and happened to come to the Sheriff’s office, presumably for a cup of coffee. As Allen exited his patrol vehicle, the inmate walked up to Allen with Terry’s firearm. Allen, not recognizing the man as an inmate had no apparent reason to fear an altercation. As the inmate approached Allen, he pulled the firearm and shot Allen in the head. As Allen’s dead body lay on the ground beside his patrol vehicle, the inmate took his firearm from his holster and two magazines from his belt, got into his patrol vehicle and sped away.

As the gunshot rang out, Terry and employees inside the building ran toward Allen, but it was to late. Allen was dead and the inmate was escaping in Allen’s patrol car. The inmate traveled across US-421, over a mountain into Shady Valley, TN, a community of approximately 900 residents. 

He was attempting to stay off state highways, but he was not from the area and had apparently gotten lost. As he drove down a gravel road in the lower end of the community, he came to a wooden bridge and ran the right front tire off the bridge and got stuck. He then fled the vehicle and ran into the mountains. 

Living in Shady Valley, Deputy Sheriff Mark Hutchinson received a phone call, advising him that Allen had been shot and there was a report of Allen’s stolen vehicle in the valley. Mark responded to the lower valley and found the patrol wrecked vehicle on the bridge.

Within a few hours, over 200 officers from TN, VA, NC, & Northeast Correctional Center centered around the wrecked patrol car, and a massive manhunt was underway. The FBI & TBI brought helicopters, and multiple agencies brought K-9’s to assist in the search.

After 30 hours into the man hunt, and hundreds of buildings searched throughout the valley, the inmate had made his way 9 miles over the mountains into a community called Sutherland, with a population of less than 100.  Less than a mile from the VA state line, the inmate tried to break into a house, but the homeowner was home and called the Sheriff’s office, who then dispatched all officers to the area. Hours later, the inmate was in custody without incident.

This event changed and shaped the lives a many people: Terry Gregg, Allen’s best friend had been shot with his weapon; Faye Gregg, the dispatcher that found Allen as she ran out of the dispatch office after the gunshot; Allen’s family, and all the officers he served with, particularly Mark Hutchinson.

Mark had worked with Allen on multiple night shifts, and Allen was a “cut up”. He enjoyed playing pranks on people. Mark recalls some of the pranks they played on dispatchers, as memories than will never be replaced, and the calls they answered as duty called.

A songwriter off duty, Mark wrote a song for Allen’s mother called, “They Will Be Remembered”. The song pays tribute to fallen officers and was meant as a healing gesture of love and support. The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) offered to pay to have the song recorded in Nashville. Soon thereafter, the University of TN Law Enforcement Training Division contacted Mark and asked if they could use the song for a police memorial video, and he was honored to say yes. 

After release of the video, UT sent it to Concerned of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), an organization that works with families of fallen officers. They in turn, sent the video to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Foundation (NLEOM) in Washington, DC. Craig Floyd, Director of the NLEOM invited Mark to perform the song at the National Candlelight Vigil at the National Police Memorial during Police Memorial Week. As a result, Mark & three guest singers sang the song as part of the ceremony when Allen's name was added to the wall.

To the left of the stage, a blue laser shined across the crowd, representing the Tribute to the Thin Blue Line; the line between good and evil. As Mark sat there on stage, he began compiling a new song in his head about the Thin Blue Line. After the performance and ceremony came to a close, he went back to his hotel and penned a new song called the “Thin Blue Line”. When he returned home, he called the President of the TN Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and asked for sponsorship to record the new song. He then obtained cooperation again from UT to create another police memorial video. After the song and video were completed, the NLEOM invited him back to the Candlelight Vigil the next year to perform the song during Police Memorial Week.

For the next five years, Mark wrote and produced one song and video per year with the sponsorship of the FOP & UT. He was fortunate to be invited to the FOP National Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony on the west lawn of the Nation’s Capital to perform the National Anthem and a song he wrote called “They Gave It All”.

Over the years, the videos and songs have been used in police memorial ceremonies and funerals across the country. Mark was honored to perform two of his songs at the Police Memorial Dedication Ceremony at the State Capital in Nashville, TN, and multiple police memorial ceremonies and dedications throughout the nation. In 2019, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Member, Willie Kitchens joined Mark at the Opening Ceremony for C.O.P.S. during Police Memorial Week in Washington, performing the National Anthem and one of Mark’s songs called “On & On They Stand (Our Heroes)”. 

Spanning over 30 years since Allen’s sacrifice, Mark's focus continues to be to bring honor to fallen officers in any possible way. In 2021, Mark established a foundation called the Lipford Foundation in honor of his friend, partner, and inspiration. The nonprofit's goal is to provide immediate financial assistance to the family of fallen officers. Additionally, the foundation will provide scholarships to children of the fallen. 

The first benefactor of the foundation came in December of 2021 to Fallen Officer Michael Chandler’s widow, Natasha Chandler, who herself is a Deputy Sheriff of the Wise Co. VA Sheriff’s Office.

The Lipford Foundation will stand as a reminder of that sacrifice serves to support those left behind.