The Knoxville Police Department has released the pertinent body-camera footage from the police shooting that happened at a home at 4705 Santala Drive on Saturday, April 27, 2024.
At just before 7:50 a.m. on April 27, KPD Officers Hunter Powers and Cayden Riddle arrived at the home on Santala Drive in response to a domestic disturbance. It was reported that a man, since identified as 25-year-old Jamauri Griffin, had shown up at the house and was armed with a gun.
As officers approached the home, they heard the female victim in distress, entered the home and announced themselves. Almost simultaneously, they encountered Griffin, who was armed with a gun. Griffin shot the female victim and officers fired in response, striking Griffin at least one time.
Griffin was pronounced dead at the scene, while the female victim, age 23, was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
A link to the video can be found here. The video starts when Officers Powers and Riddle arrive at the scene and ends approximately one minute after the shooting occurred. The video shows extremely graphic images that could be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
The shooting is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, per standard protocol, while the KPD’s Office of Professional Standards is also conducting an internal administrative investigation. Both of those investigations are still ongoing. Officers Powers and Riddle remain on routine administrative leave.
Per department policy, in the event of a critical incident, the Office of Public Information in coordination with the Technical Services Unit and other appropriate department personnel, will immediately begin preparing a video of said incident for public release. The purpose of the video release is to inform the community of the circumstances that led to the incident in a timely fashion. The department strives to release critical incident video to the public as expeditiously as possible, in coordination with District Attorney General Charme Allen and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.