Roll of Honor
Incident
Chief Deputy Leonard Taylor and Deputy Sheriff Oran Blasingame were killed in a vehicle crash on US Highway 64, six miles west of Selmer.
Chief Deputy Taylor and Deputy Blasingame were passengers in a vehicle being driven by a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent en route to Memphis to interview two juveniles suspected of being in a series of burglaries in the county. Their car struck a logging truck that made a left turn in front of them.
A citizen that they were going to drop off at a Memphis hospital was also killed in the crash.
Chief Deputy Taylor was a WWII veteran and had served with the McNairy County Sheriff's Office for 2 1/2 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TN-51601672- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Chief Deputy Taylor gave the McNairy County Sheriff's Office 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Selmer community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Leonard Paul Taylor served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Chief Deputy Leonard Paul Taylor is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TN, 191 of 769 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At McNairy County Sheriff's Office, 3 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Leonard Paul Taylor's cause is highlighted.
How Leonard Paul Taylor Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Leonard Paul Taylor is highlighted in May.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from McNairy County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
