Officer-involved shooting in Memphis leaves suspect dead

An officer-involved shooting on a North Memphis street Wednesday afternoon left a drug suspect dead, leading to a state-level investigation and mourning by people who knew him.

Shelby County Sheriff's Office officials originally said the suspect was in stable condition at Regional One Hospital with a shoulder wound, but later said his condition was critical. Shortly after 8 p.m., Wednesday, Sheriff's department spokesman Earle Farrell said the man had died.

The man was later identified by a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman as 34-year-old Bryan Gregory.

Gregory was married with two children. He had a criminal record dating back to 2007 when he was arrested on drug charges. He pleaded guilty in 2008 and was sentenced to two years at the Shelby County Correctional Center. It wasn't clear how much time he actually served.

After learning of Gregory's death, his friends and family took to Facebook to express their grief about the death of the man whose nickname was "hot dog."

"SMH.. RIP hotdog child hood friend from off Kney St. North Memphis," one friend posted on Facebook.

Farrell said the bullet had apparently entered the man's shoulder from the side and penetrated into his body, leading to more serious injuries than originally thought.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation. “Since this person went from stable to critical, it’s the (District Attorney's) recommendation that it be turned over to the TBI,” Farrell said, more than an hour before the death was confirmed.

TBI spokesman Micheal Jones explained the agency's role.

"TBI serves as independent fact finders in these investigations and at the conclusion of the investigation the case file is turned over to the District Attorney General for review," he said. "The determination of whether the officers' actions are justified rests solely with the District Attorney General."

A deputy also suffered a slight injury to his leg, possibly from a bullet fragment, Farrell said.

The shooting happened about 3:15 p.m. in the 1100 block of Decatur in North Memphis as undercover narcotics officers tried to stop a drug suspect in a vehicle.

According to Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Floyd Bonner, officers had a search warrant for another location and planned to take the suspect there.

In situations like this, officers often use a suspect’s keys to get access to a property they want to search, he said.

Bonner said the suspect tried to flee and rammed into law enforcement vehicles.

Deputies got out and saw the suspect reach under a seat. Believing he was going for a gun, two deputies fired and one bullet hit the suspect. Deputies found a semi-automatic weapon in the vehicle, along with drugs, Bonner said.

The minor injury to the deputy’s leg may have been caused by a bullet ricochet, he said. That injured deputy was one of the two who fired.

Law enforcement officers had taped off part of Decatur, a narrow street of closely spaced, one-story homes. The officers could be seen setting up yellow numbered evidence markers in the street.

Only a few people in the neighborhood came outside in the cold to watch deputies work. A few people arrived at the scene, possibly relatives of Gregory, though it couldn’t immediately be confirmed. One woman was in tears and declined to talk with a reporter.

“Oh my God,” she cried at one point. She soon left.

Jones, the TBI spokesman, briefed reporters in a parking lot near the shooting scene at 9 p.m. and said another man, later identified as Richard Gorman, was in the car with Gregory at the time of the shooting and was uninjured.

Gorman, 27, was arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, deliver or sell.

Police said they found 29 grams of marijuana in Gorman's jacket pocket, a digital scale and $485 cash, according to an arrest affidavit.

Gorman admitted to police that the drugs, scale and cash belonged to him. He told police in a statement that he bought the marijuana from Gregory, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, police said they were in the area conducting surveillance on Gregory.

"While conducting surveillance, detectives observed the target of the ongoing investigation conduct hand-to-hand transactions with unknown individuals while in the area," according to the affidavit.

Detectives said they saw Gregory's vehicle near the 1100 block of Decatur Street where the suspect frequents, the affidavit stated.

"Detectives then activated their emergency equipment and conducted a stop on suspect Gregory," according to the affidavit.

Gorman got out of the car and attempted to run, but was arrested, the affidavit stated.

Gorman is in the Shelby County Jail and will be in court Friday.

Jones gave an account of the shooting that was largely the same as the one Sheriff’s officials gave earlier in the day. He said TBI forensic investigators would likely stay on the scene to collect evidence well into the night and possibly longer, and that the total investigation could take quite some time.

He didn't release the names of the deputies who fired shots.

Staff reporter Yolanda Jones contributed to this story. Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.