KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler has awarded Deputy Matthew Kirchner the 2025 Deputy of the Year and the Medal of Valor for bravery and heroism in the line of duty while serving as a patrolman on June 21, 2025 — the night Deputy Dalton Swanger was injured in the line of duty during an episode of “On Patrol Live.”
That night, Kirchner, along with Swanger and Deputy Gendreau, responded to a report of shots fired in a residential area near Stanley Road and Boulder Point Lane in Powell. After making contact with an “irrational subject” in a tree line behind a home, the situation escalated quickly when the suspect started throwing large rocks at the deputies.
Kirchner was struck in the arm by one of the large rocks, but KCSO said he confronted the suspect — later identified as 44-year-old Christopher Michael Hensley — “without hesitation.” However, Swanger was critically injured when he was struck in the head with a large rock. KCSO said Kirchner maintained his composure and acted immediately, coordinating with Gendreau and dragging Swanger about 20 yards to safety…