Tanisha Pughsley: Alabama Detective Shot Dead, Ex-Boyfriend Charged
Tanisha Pughsley had risen to the rank of detective with the Montgomery, Alabama Police Department.
The Alabama State alumna's criminal justice degree was paying off.
After four years on the force, she was focused on advancing even further on her job, but she was having relationship trouble with her ex-boyfriend.
Because of the way things were going, Pughsley, 27, filed and was granted a protection order against 24-year-old Brandon DeShawn Webster.
Police say Webster burglarized Pughsley's home on Monday, July 6, 2020 and allegedly shot her.
Webster is charged with two counts of capitol murder among other charges related to Pughsley's death.
Pughsley's protective order was granted in June 2020. A month earlier, according to media reports, she wrote in an incident report that "Brandon came to my residence and hit me in the side of the head with an open hand two times while I was holding my 5-month-old Godchild. His actions caused me to drop the infant."
She added: "Although Brandon has moved out of the residence, he continues to show up and physically assault me."
When they weren't in the same space, Pughsley said she was still terrorized via phone.
"He sends me threatening text messages and once he is blocked, he continues to call my phone private."
Webster and Pughsley both owned the home she stayed in, according to a court judgment.
"Our entire community today mourns the death of one of our own, Tanisha Pughsley. Detective Pughsley answered the call to serve, defend and protect our city," Mayor Steve Reed said in prepared remarks.
Pughsley was laid to rest on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. A caravan of officers, family and community members stretched 10 miles to escort her body, which was in a hearse.
Meanwhile, Webster is being held without bond in the Montgomery Detention Center.
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