NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Nashville police officer fatally shot a man Saturday morning who charged toward him armed with two butcher knives, investigators said.
Metro Nashville Police said Officer Christopher Royer pulled over a white Mercedes-Benz that had a license plate registered to a green Chevrolet around 12 a.m., the Tennessean reported.
The driver cooperated with police, however a passenger jumped out of the car armed with two butcher knives and started running around. He entered the driver-side front door of the car before running again. Royer yelled for the man to drop the knives.
“I don’t want to shoot you,” Royer can be heard saying on body camera footage of the incident.
Royer was 25 yards away from his patrol vehicle when the man holding the knives started to charge toward him. Royer then fired three shots and the man fell to the ground. He was taken to a hospital where he died.
Royer and the driver were not injured.
“He did everything he could, I felt. He retreated. He asked the individual to drop the weapon several times,” police chief John Drake said. “He was left with no choice.”
Drake said officers routinely check license plates to verify that vehicles are not stolen. It is unclear if the Mercedes had been reported stolen.
Royer was placed on an administrative assignment, which is department policy, WKRN reported. He has worked four years for the department.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and district attorney’s office are investigating.
“This appears to possibly be justified … we will find out once the investigation moves forward,” Drake told WKRN. “Officers are put in these situations and it is unfortunate.”
