Nashville police officers shot and killed a man on River Road Pike on Saturday night. It was the second fatal shooting by the department within 24 hours.
The man was later identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as 64-year-old Drandon John Brown, who often went by the nickname Chief. Brown was experiencing homelessness, and often stayed nearby at an encampment in Brookmeade Park.
Police reported the fatal shooting on Twitter at 10:25 p.m. Saturday, and posted excerpted emergency calls and body camera footage about two hours later.
The video is narrated by Brooke Reese, a department spokesperson. She says that the Department of Emergency Communications was contacted by Cheatham County dispatch on Saturday about a man who was walking down the road and yelling at passing cars. Cheatham County said they couldn’t get there before he crossed into Davidson County.
Several calls included in the compilation video released by MNPD detail reports that Brown was yelling and throwing things at vehicles — with one caller saying she wasn’t sure if he had a stick, or a gun.
Metro officers Ryan Thomas and Cameron Vandermerwe responded to the calls. Both officers are new to the force, having joined in 2021.
Body camera footage from the scene shows officers confronting Brown as he walks down the highway. He tells the officers to walk with him, and he starts to walk away.
Officer Ryan Thomas says, “Hold on, can I talk to you?” But Brown says no.
Officer Thomas asks Officer Vandermerwe, “You ready?”
Brown notices, and replies, “I’ll take both of you,” as he appears to take something out of his pocket. It is not clear from the footage what the object was. The spokesperson says it was a knife.
The officers tell him to put it down. Brown begins to walk away again, and Officer Vandermerwe deploys his taser. Brown continues walking, then turns back to Officer Vandermerwe and moves toward him quickly. Vandermerwe backs up. It’s unclear which officer fired. Brown died at the scene.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting. It’s the second fatal shooting by MNPD this weekend, and the third this year.
Update: This story has been updated to include the name of the man killed by police, Drandon John Brown.
This is a developing story. Some things that get reported early on, by the media or law enforcement, could later turn out to be wrong. WPLN News will have updates as the situation develops.
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