Louisville jail officer charged with DUI and fired months after failing 2 breathalyzer tests

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville corrections department fired a jail officer who was charged with drunk driving following a wreck last fall.

Despite having a blood alcohol level roughly two times over the legal limit, Terry Henderson was not immediately arrested after crashing into another officer on Sept. 26 while on duty.

It took more than three months before Henderson was charged Jan. 3 with official misconduct and drunk driving, his third DUI charge since 2019. He was fired Tuesday.

So far, Louisville Metro Police or Metro Corrections officials have not fully explained why Henderson wasn't arrested following the crash after which he failed two breathalyzer tests and was then released.

Henderson collided with Officer Andrew Young, who was going home after finishing his shift, on Cedar Street near the downtown jail, sending Young to the hospital where he was treated and released.

Police came to the scene and wrote an accident report. The report has a box checked saying alcohol was not involved.

But a criminal complaint filed in a January 3 court case says Henderson was taken to a medical center after the wreck and took two breathalyzers there, blowing a .151 and then 15 minutes later a .171, about two times the legal limit of .08. He is now charged with DUI and misdemeanor official misconduct.

Asked why Henderson was not arrested, a Louisville police spokesman previously said, "This matter is currently under review," and referred any other questions to Metro Corrections.

On Tuesday, Sgt. Matt Sanders, a spokesman for LMPD, said police "did not administer a (breathalyzer test) to Mr. Henderson."

"After consulting this case through the County Attorney's Office, our Public Integrity Unit believes the appropriate charges have been filed against Mr. Henderson," Sanders said.

Sanders said he could not comment further because an investigation is pending.

In a statement, Metro Corrections Chief Jerry Collins said he fired Henderson on Tuesday after an investigation was completed.

"We take these incidents seriously and we will continue to hold the men and women of LMDC to very high standards while they serve this community," Collins said.

Major Jason Logsdon, a spokesman for Metro Corrections, said Henderson was required to submit to a breathalyzer following the wreck as part of city policy.

Henderson was suspended and an investigation began the next day, according to a timeline provided by Logsdon. He was served with a "disciplinary actions notice" on Jan. 17 and fired Tuesday.

Henderson has not been arrested but instead was summoned to appear in Jefferson District Court for arraignment on Feb. 9.

In a phone call Tuesday, Henderson said he would have his attorney contact WDRB News for a comment.

Before he was hired as a city jail officer, Henderson was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in March 2019 after getting arrested for a DUI in which his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit.

He was then charged with a second DUI just months later. Metro Corrections hired him in 2021.

Since then, he was suspended or reprimanded several times.

On September 26, Henderson was driving his Metro Corrections vehicle when he attempted to make a U-turn at the intersection of South 6th Street and struck Young's vehicle at about 3:45 p.m., according to a police report. Young was taken to UofL Hospital, where he was treated and released.

In the March 2019 single-vehicle crash, officers found Henderson slumped over the wheel while the car was running; his breathalyzer was .257, or more than three times the legal limit, according to court and other documents.

He pleaded guilty in November 2019 to DUI and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 15 knocked off for time already served and the rest of the time conditionally discharged as long as he stayed out of trouble. His license was suspended for six months.

A few months after Henderson was fired by LMPD, he was again charged with a DUI after a wreck on June 7, 2019. The charge of DUI second offense was amended to DUI first and Henderson eventually pleaded guilty again in November 2019 and received the same sentence as in his previous case.

Despite his criminal history, Henderson was hired by Louisville Metro Corrections in August 2021, according to his personnel file.

He has since been disciplined several times, from reprimands for tardiness to suspensions for refusing or not showing up to work and using excessive force on an inmate.

"The use of force with (the inmate) was completely unnecessary and avoidable," according to an Aug. 3, 2022, incident report. Henderson was accused of hitting a female inmate five times.

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