At the request of 10th Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Hatchett, TBI special agents are investigating the circumstances leading to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday afternoon in Sweetwater.
At approximately 3:15 p.m., deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance in the 200 block of Glenlock Road in Sweetwater regarding a man who was reportedly armed and making threats. Preliminary information indicates that upon arrival, deputies made contact with the man, who was armed with a rifle and refused to comply with commands to drop the weapon. The Madisonville Police Department’s Special Response Team responded to assist and attempted to negotiate with the subject. For reasons still under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in a Madisonville officer firing at the man, striking him. He 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.
