Memphis police officers shot and killed a man in Whitehaven in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 21, 2009. It happened in the 500 block of Brockwood, that's just west of Elvis Presley Boulevard, and north of East Shelby Drive.
“It was last night about 12 and we heard some noise. My cousin said it sounded like firecrackers, but we saw police lights. We saw some dude being carried out on a stretcher,” said Keandra Boyland.
“I heard about 5 gunshots it was about 12:00 a.m. or 12:30 a.m. We didn't pay no more attention to it because I thought it was firecrackers,” said neighbor Dorothy Tate.
What neighbors thought was firecrackers turned out to be gunfire.
“It was a young male, he tried to break into coach Jake's house and when he came outside he had a gun in his hand, and the police shot at him. That was the noise we heard,” Boyland said.
Memphis police say officers told the 38-year-old man to drop the gun several times, and he did not listen. Memphis police say the man instead pointed the gun right at officers, that's when officers shot several times at the man.
“The young male had a gun in his hand and the police shot at him,” Boyland said.
The man was taken to the med, where he died. Police haven't released his name.
Three officers have been put on routine paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
Police are saying the man shot and killed may have been involved in another overnight murder.
Memphis police found a 48-year-old woman dead on the 400-block of Western Park. Police say the woman was lying on the floor in a back bedroom. Police wouldn't say how the woman died, but they say it appears to be a homicide.
