At the request of 10th District Attorney General Steve Crump, TBI Special Agents are investigating the circumstances that led to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Tuesday evening in Etowah.
Preliminary information from the scene indicates that around 7 p.m., Agents with the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force arrived at a residence on County Road 909 to follow up on a narcotics investigation. Initial reports indicate that when officers got to that location, Paul Eugene Armstrong (DOB 12/20/1957) came out of the home, holding a gun and pointing it at the officers. At some point during this encounter, the two Task Force Agents, one from Athens Police Department and one from McMinn County Sheriff’s Office, fired their weapons, striking Armstrong, who was pronounced deceased at the scene. No officers were injured during this incident.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation. Troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol Critical Incident Response Team are assisting at the scene while TBI Special Agents work to gather any and all relevant interviews and evidence. As in any case, TBI’s investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General throughout the process for his consideration and review.
As is our policy, the TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to their respective department.
Any updates on this investigation will be posted online at TBINewsroom.
TBINewsroom.com 