MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Two Tennessee police officers will not face criminal charges from the state for fatally shooting a man who pointed a gun at them during a confrontation in the front yard of a home, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Antonio Smith Jr., 35, was shot and killed in December 2019 in the Memphis neighborhood of Frayser. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took control of the case and handed its investigative report to Shelby County district attorney Amy Weirich.
Authorities said two Memphis Police Department officers investigating a prowler call at night heard yelling from the house next door. A woman could be heard screaming, “Help. Someone’s trying to kill my baby’s daddy,” the district attorney’s office said.
The officers went to help the woman and saw Smith holding a pistol in one hand and a board in the other while chasing another man, Weirich said.
Both officers drew their guns and held flashlights on Smith, identified themselves as police and ordered him to drop his weapons, Weirich said.
Smith raised his gun at an officer and both officers fired. Smith was hit twice in the chest and he died at the scene.
Police body cameras were part of the investigative report. Footage shows a man raising his arm while holding a gun, and officers firing at him.
Smith was Black. The two officers involved in the shooting are Black, according to the TBI report.
Investigators said Smith had a high blood alcohol level.
Weirich said the officers were legally justified in shooting Smith and they will not face state criminal charges.
“The armed suspect, who ignored their commands to drop his weapons, clearly posed a threat of serious bodily injury to themselves and to bystanders,” Weirich said in a statement. “The officers had no other reasonable option but to shoot.”
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