Knoxville PD bodycam shows man shooting ex-girlfriend point-blank, then officer fatally shooting him

6 months ago
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The Knoxville Police Department body-camera footage from the April 27 police shooting of 25-year-old Jamauri Griffin shows the man firing a gun point-blank into the face of a woman inside her home.

Griffin was pronounced dead at the scene, while the 23-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for treatment.

The video from two officers' bodycams released by the department May 8 includes a slow motion segment of the encounter, which happened within seconds of officers walking into the house.

Just before 7:50 a.m. April 27, officers Hunter Powers and Cayden Riddle arrived at the home on Santala Drive for a domestic disturbance call. A caller said a man had shown up at the house and was armed with a gun, a department spokesperson said.

Powers and Riddle entered the house, announcing they were police officers. Almost simultaneously, they see Griffin in front of them, holding a gun and standing close to the woman. As soon as they announced themselves, Griffin lifted his arm and fired point-blank at the woman's face.

The two officers fired multiple times in response, striking Griffin at least one time. The entire sequence from the time officers entered the home until Griffin was shot lasted less than 5 seconds.

The officers cleared away the man's gun and calmed the injured woman.

The woman was hospitalized at the University of Tennessee Medical Center for a gunshot wound to her face. Her injuries, police said, were not life-threatening.

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