LEBANON, Tenn. – A prosecutor says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has concluded an officer was justified in shooting a suspect after a high-speed chase in March.
News outlets report District Attorney General Tom P. Thompson Jr. said the investigation found Lebanon Lt. Detective Scott Massey was justified in shooting 24-year-old Christian Andrew Whitten-Galindo on March 20.
The report — based on interviews with witnesses, police officers, Massey and Whitten-Galindo — says the suspect failed to comply with multiple commands and reached for his back waistline. Massey says he believed Whitten-Galindo was reaching for a weapon, leading him to fire one shot.
The Lebanon Police Department is conducting an internal investigation.
Whitten-Galindo was treated at a hospital and charged with theft of property, reckless endangerment and evading arrest. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
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