Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee prosecutor says a police officer was justified in a fatal shooting earlier this year in which a man charged at him with a large knife.
District Attorney General Ken Baldwin said in a letter Monday to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that an investigation showed no inappropriate actions by Jonesborough Officer Chad Reece. The Johnson City Press reports that Reece shot 26-year-old Mark Clinton Harrell Jr. of Church Hill three times in March.
Police had been dispatched to a motel on a report of suspicious activity involving another man, who they found in a car. When officers approached the vehicle, Harrell exited with the knife.
Baldwin said Harrell was given multiple opportunities to drop the machete-like weapon and Reece only fired when Harrell charged at him swinging the knife.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
