Louisville jail officer with drunk driving past under investigation after wrecking into co-worker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Before he was hired as a city jail officer, Terry 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, but Metro Corrections hired him in 2021.

Since then, he has been suspended or reprimanded several times. Henderson also is now under investigation by Louisville police and jail officials for wrecking his car last month while on duty, running into another corrections officer and sending that man to the hospital.

Several sources with knowledge of the investigation told WDRB News that Henderson is believed to have been drinking before the recent crash but was not arrested.

The wreck occurred Sept. 26 on Cedar Street near Metro Corrections' downtown facility. Henderson crashed into Officer Andrew Young, who was going home after finishing his shift.

Henderson, driving his Metro Corrections vehicle, attempted to make a U-turn at the intersection of South 6th Street when he struck Young's vehicle at about 3:45 p.m., according to a police report. Metro Corrections Capt. Jason Logsdon said Henderson was suspended pending an investigation into the collision. Young was taken to UofL Hospital, where he was treated and released.

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

In a statement, a Louisville police spokesman said, "This matter is currently under review," and referred any other questions to Metro Corrections.

In response to an open records request about the wreck and whether Henderson was given a breathalyzer, Metro Government said: "Requested records are being withheld at this time pursuant (to state law) as they are part of an ongoing investigation."

Attorney Thomas Clay, who has been investigating the incident, said Henderson failed a breathalyzer at the jail following the wreck but was allowed to go home. Clay said LMPD is investigating following a complaint by the injured officer.

Henderson has had repeated issues with alcohol, including being fired as a police recruit shortly after being arrested in March 2019 after a single-vehicle crash, his personnel file shows. Officers found him 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 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.

It is unclear if Henderson currently has an attorney. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

This story may be updated.