MPD officer shot man, 29, in stable condition
A Memphis Police Department officer shot a 29-year-old man near the 4900 block of Quince Road, the department announced early Thursday on Twitter.
The MPD statement says an officer from the Mt. Moriah station initiated a traffic stop of the driver, who bailed from his car and fled on foot.
The department's statement alleges the man fired multiple shots at the officer which missed. Initially transported to Regional One Hospital in critical condition, the man is now in stable condition after the officer shot him once, police said. The department said an investigation is ongoing.
MPD spokesperson Lt. Karen Rudolph did not immediately respond to an inquiry regarding whether the officer will remain on duty during the investigation.
Recent non-fatal shootings involve conflicting accounts
Conflicting accounts have emerged from non-fatal shootings in recent years. In 2017, after an MPD officer shot then 20-year-old Davonte Weatherford, the department stated he pointed a gun at the officer who fired in self-defense.
The following year, Weatherford released body camera video of the shooting, which his lawyer said occurred as he ran from officers.
In the video, an officer behind the wheel of a police cruiser can be heard shouting, "You run again, I'm going to kill you!" to Weatherford. Two seconds later, the officer appeared to fire two shots at Weatherford from his patrol car.
Weatherford said he ran because a gun he had in his pocket for protection was not registered. He disputed the claim that he waived or pointed it at the police officer. The video does not show what occurred as Weatherfood ran from police. Later footage picks up the officer telling another officer the gun was pointed at him.
In 2019, Martavious Banks filed a lawsuit against the City of Memphis involving allegations he was shot while fleeing police.
Banks was shot by former MPD officer Jamarcus Jeames, who did not have his body camera operating during the incident, according to the Memphis Police Department. Banks, who was 25 at the time, spent multiple weeks in intensive care after the shooting, which sparked protests in which several people were arrested. The police account of the incident cited a gun.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation involvement
Keli Mcalister, spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said as of Thursday morning, the agency has not received a request from Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich to investigate the recent shooting.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding, TBI automatically investigates fatal shootings by local law enforcement officers. Non-fatal shootings are investigated by the agency on request from Weirich, Mcalister said.
The DA'S request was not immediate in the aftermath of the Banks shooting, which TBI investigated, she said. The agency did not investigate the shooting of Weatherford.
The District Attorney's office did not pursue charges against Jeames, the officer who shot Banks. He resigned during an administrative hearing into the shooting.
Weirich's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment as to whether the District Attorney would request TBI investigate the Thursday shooting.
This is a developing story.
Sarah Macaraeg can be reached at sarah.macaraeg@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @seramak.