At the request of 8th District Attorney General Jared Effler, TBI special agents are investigating the circumstances leading to the shooting of a man during an interaction with authorities in Campbell County Thursday evening.

Preliminary information indicates that officers with the Caryville Police Department and deputies with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office spotted a car traveling along the Appalachian Highway in Caryville that was the subject of a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) in connection to a robbery that occurred just after 7:00 p.m. in Jacksboro. Officers initiated a traffic stop, but the male driver refused to stop. A pursuit ensued and continued onto Interstate 75. At mile marker 137, the driver crashed into several vehicles stopped in a construction zone, including a cruiser driven by a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol who was parked behind a disabled vehicle. During efforts to take the driver into custody, the situation escalated, resulting in the trooper, a Caryville officer, and a Campbell County deputy firing shots, striking him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A female passenger in the car was also injured in the incident and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. No officers were injured during the incident.

TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General for his further review and consideration. The TBI acts solely as fact-finders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement. 

The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to the respective department to answer as it sees fit.

Any available updates on this investigation will be posted online at TBINewsroom.com.