Tennessee authorities announced Tuesday that they are investigating a Memorial Day shooting that resulted in the death of a Washington County man.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report around 11:40 p.m. of a male subject threatening to harm himself and a relative at home. Deputies arrived at the scene and encountered Gary Dorton on the front porch, armed with a large knife.
“Deputies asked Dorton to drop the knife, but he would not comply. At some point during the confrontation, Dorton charged one of the deputies, resulting in the deputy firing his service weapon, striking him. Dorton still refused to drop the knife and attempted to cut himself. At that point, deputies deployed a taser in order to subdue him,” the TBI said in its press release.
First responders administered CPR immediately, but Dorton died at the scene.
The shooting marks the eighth officer-involved shooting in Tennessee this month and the sixth in the last 10 days, according to the TBI. Press reports indicate that the agency has opened up investigations into six incidents since May 17. For comparison, the TBI investigated three officer-involved shootings in April and three in March.
In one incident, an off-duty Metro Nashville officer was “inexplicably” shot in the back “without warning or provocation” while walking his dog Thursday night. The officer, Darrell Osment, has been released from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is recovering from home, the city government announced.
Most of the investigations are still active and ongoing. The TBI doesn’t identify officers involved in the incidents.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Police Tape’ by Tony Webster. CC BY-SA 4.0.
