Grand jury to weigh charges in Officer Eric Mumaw's death
A Nashville judge on Tuesday sent the case against a woman charged in the death of Nashville Police Officer Eric Mumaw to a grand jury.
General Sessions Judge Allegra Walker found, after hearing testimony from two police officers, that there was probable cause in the case against Juli Glisson and a grand jury should weigh what charges the woman should face. The grand jury process can take months.
Glisson, who turned 41 on Monday, was initially charged by police with aggravated vehicular homicide — a felony that takes prior drunken driving convictions and a person's blood alcohol content into account — for the Feb. 2 incident.
On that day, before sunrise, Mumaw and other officers were called to help a reportedly suicidal woman in her car on a boat ramp into the Cumberland River in Madison.
Mumaw, 44 years old and an 18-year department veteran, was pulled into the frigid waters with Glisson's vehicle when Glisson shifted from park, police said at the time. One officer on scene, Trent Craig, testified during the Tuesday hearing,describing his communication with Glisson, trying to get her safely out of the car.
She once looked at him with disdain, Craig testified, asking what would happen if she drove into the river. He recalled Glisson also saying, "You don’t really want to help me. You just want to take me to jail for DUI and for open containers."
Craig said Glisson was "coherently intoxicated," and when she lifted a hand toward the gear shift, Craig pushed himself partially through her open driver's window to try and stop her. The car began rolling toward the water. Craig said the momentum of the vehicle pulled Mumaw to the cold, fast current, though he testified he was mostly focused on getting out of the car window at the time.
"I could see Eric, it seemed like he was 15, 20 yards off the bank," Craig said. He tried to help his fellow officer, and removed his heavy gear, thinking he could swim out to help Mumaw.
“As soon as I hit the water, my body just shut down,” Craig recalled. “His head was still above the water at that time." Soon, though, Mumaw disappeared from view.
“I never did see him come back up."
Mumaw's body was found several hours later.
Another officer, DUI investigator Ryan Henehan, testified about his interview with Glisson after she was rescued from the river and hospitalized. He said Glisson told him she drank seven to eight beers while at the boat ramp. Glisson, according to court papers, had a blood alcohol content of 0.21 percent, nearly three times the legal limit to drive in Tennessee.
"I asked her what happened," Henehan said. "She told me that when the officer reached into the vehicle to get the keys, the vehicle went into neutral and rolled into the river."
Glisson was charged the same day the city mourned Mumaw's line-of-duty death in a way only Nashville can, with country music superstars Billy Ray Cyrus and Vince Gill honoring Mumaw at his funeral service.
The case is being prosecuted by assistant district attorneys general Ed Ryan and Kyle Anderson. Anderson said Glisson has two prior DUI convictions, one in Nashville and another in Rutherford County. If convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide, Glisson could spend a minimum of 15 years in prison.
Glisson is represented by assistant public defenders Kevin Griffith, Jon Wing and Daniel Satterfield. Glisson's aunt attended the Tuesday hearing, but did not want to comment. Glisson herself did not appear for the hearing; her defense waived her appearance.
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