Attorneys: Officer shot at suicidal man intentionally

Brian Cottell, the Chattanooga police officer who police have said “accidentally” fired his weapon at a suicidal man who had just shot himself, did so intentionally, his attorneys say.

The Chattanooga Police Department issued a news release Monday, saying an officer accidentally discharged his department-issued handgun three times at a scene in the 4000 block of Oakwood Drive. Two of the shots hit a chair and one hit the deceased man’s leg.

“[Cottell] purposefully discharged his weapon to protect himself and other officers as he was trained to do in these types of situations,” one of Cottell’s attorneys, Janie Parks Varnell, said in a Tuesday statement.

Another of Cottell’s attorneys, Bryan Hoss, said his client has been a law enforcement officer and in the military for a combined 20 years. He is a certified hostage negotiator and a member of the crisis intervention team, Varnell said.

“The suspect picked up a firearm and waved it at the officers,” Hoss said.

Body camera footage shows Cottell standing 10 to 20 feet away from the man when he tried to convince the man to drop the weapon, Hoss said. But the man refused.

Almost simultaneously as the man fatally shot himself, Varnell said, Cottell fired three quick rounds.

“Officer Cottell and other responding officers found themselves in a stressful and rapidlyevolving situation involving an armed suspect with a gun,” Varnell said.

Spokespeople for the Chattanooga Police Department did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Times Free Press has requested Cottell’s personnel file.

The incident occurred after police were called to the 4000 block of Oakwood Drive at about 11:35 a.m. Sunday morning in regards to a suicidal man, according to a Chattanooga Police Department news release.

All officers at the scene were placed on leave per department policy, and an active investigation is continuing, authorities said.