Nashville police officer fatally shoots man after traffic stop; TBI investigating

Natalie Allison | The Tennessean

A 25-year-old man is dead after authorities said he was fatally shot by a Metro Nashville Police Department officer Thursday night during a traffic stop in North Nashville.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, identified the deceased as Daniel Hambrick, 25.

The shooting took place just after 7 p.m. on a sidewalk beside an apartment complex near the intersection of Jo Johnston Avenue and 17th Avenue North, across the street from Watkins Park.

Nashville police identified the officer who shot Hambrick as Andrew Delke, 25. He has been placed on "routine administrative leave," said police spokesman Don Aaron.

TBI statement on officer involved shooting in Nashville TBI statement on officer involved shooting in Nashville

During a media briefing Thursday night, TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said that authorities believe that during the traffic stop, Hambrick "reportedly emerged from the vehicle with a firearm in his hand," and that the "situation escalated from there," resulting in Delke firing his service weapon multiple times.

DeVine said it was unclear whether the gun was pointed at the officer and whether Hambrick had been ordered out of the vehicle.

Authorities have not yet released how many times Hambrick was shot or where he was struck.

There is no body camera or dash camera footage of the shooting, Aaron confirmed.

Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron just stopped by the scene. Confirms only one cop fired weapon, unsure how many times. Officer Delke has been placed on routine administrative assignment. There is no dash or body camera footage. pic.twitter.com/QtszlYpJGK — Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) July 27, 2018

Daniel Hambrick's car was stopped by officer looking for stolen vehicles

DeVine said officers from the police department's juvenile crimes task force were looking throughout North Nashville earlier in the evening for stolen vehicles.

Delke is a member of the task force, but is assigned to the East Precinct.

The officer involved in tonight's police shooting is Andrew Delke, age 25, who is assigned to the Juvenile Crime Task Force. Officer Delke graduated from the MNPD Academy in December 2016. pic.twitter.com/ARv5KDtJFb — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) July 27, 2018

Nashville officers initially saw a car, later described by police as a white Chevrolet Impala, driving in an "erratic pattern," DeVine said, and attempted to stop the vehicle.

The vehicle did not stop and fled the area. Officers did not attempt to chase the car.

When they found the car near 17th Avenue North and Jo Johnston Avenue, an officer initiated a traffic stop, TBI reported, at which time the vehicle stopped and Hambrick exited the vehicle.

Two other individuals were in the car, Aaron said.

According to DeVine, after Hambrick was struck by gunfire, another person in the car drove the vehicle away from the immediate area and abandoned it nearby before fleeing.

Police have not identified the two other individuals in the vehicle.

Hambrick died a short time after medics transported him from the scene of the shooting.

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TBI trying to determine what transpired before shots fired

As outlined in a memorandum of understanding between TBI and Metro Nashville police, TBI agents now investigate all of MNPD's fatal shootings and present their findings to District Attorney Glenn Funk.

DeVine said it still remains to be determined what took place between the time Hambrick exited the vehicle and when Delke fired at him.

Delke was not among the small number of Nashville officers who wear body cameras as part of the department's body camera pilot program, which was launched in October 2017.

The vast majority of Nashville police patrol vehicles are not outfitted with dashboard cameras, with the exception of cars driven by DUI enforcement and interstate interdiction officers, Aaron confirmed.

Cellphone footage taken just after the shooting circulated on social media Thursday night, showing Hambrick's body lying on the sidewalk. Witnesses in the video describe him as being handcuffed.

Aaron said he was unable to confirm whether officers handcuffed Hambrick after he was shot, but said it was "not unusual" to do so for officers' safety.

An unidentified woman recording the video can be heard urging someone to call the family of "Dan Dan" to let them know he had been shot by police.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful or rude, but he's laying on the corner of Jo Johnston ..." the woman said. "He's dead."

Witnesses can be heard recalling hearing several shots ringing out.

Group calling for police oversight board urges action

Gicola Lane, a Nashville activist who is part of Community Oversight Now, a coalition working to see a police oversight board established in the city, said the community response after the shooting Thursday night was evidence that accountability was needed.

Lane described a "complete lack of trust in MNPD's version of the story" after the department first tweeted a photo of a handgun they said Hambrick had in his possession at the time of the shooting.

Lane said she and others were frustrated that there was no body or dash camera to capture the shooting, which was one of the organization's six demands after the fatal February 2017 police shooting of Jocques Clemmons.

Lane's uncle, Timothy Lamont Lane, was fatally shot by Nashville police in 2000 during a domestic violence call.

Community Oversight Now has one week to secure nearly 2,000 more signatures in order to qualify to place a referendum for a community oversight board on the ballot for the November general election.

Related: Black Lives Matter demands police oversight board in Nashville rally

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.