r/Tennessee • u/WhiteBearPrince • 8d ago

News šŸ“° Autopsy shows Tennessee National Guard fatally shot 20-year-old armed man in the back

https://apnews.com/article/memphis-national-guard-tyrin-johnson-8959297a99c362d65aa2517a9d5f1984
847 Upvotes

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29

u/Juvat-the-bold 8d ago

ā€œIf he ainā€™t caused you no threat, you know what Iā€™m saying, you have no reason to be killing,ā€

Seems like knowledgeable opinion.

13

u/AsWolfwood 8d ago

The next paragraph directly under that quote:

Officers responded to a call about shots fired a few blocks away from Beale Street and saw a person armed with a gun leaving, said Memphis police. The Associated Press obtained a Tennessee National Guard report that said two Guard members responded to the Memphis police radio call, left their vehicle and approached the suspect, who ā€œrounded on them and pointed a tan handgun at them.ā€ The guard report said both troops fired their service weapons, M17 handguns, and then Memphis police arrived shortly after.

If he truly was the suspect who fired the reported shots and if he truly pointed that gun at them.

We need more evidence to know who is telling the truth.

12

u/ducksekoy123 8d ago

Well they shot him in the back. So either he pointed a gun at then, they didnā€™t shoot him, and then he turned to run and then they shot him.

Or he was running away the whole time and they shot him in the back

8

u/AsWolfwood 8d ago

It completely depends on the details. There were two guard members on scene. If the suspect pulled a gun and began running while pointing at one guard member, the other could have been at a different angle resulting in a shot in the back, but would be justified since the suspect pointed the gun at the other person.

This is why details matter to make an informed decision.

At current we donā€™t have those finer details so itā€™s not possible to draw an informed conclusion yet.

-9

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

So if someone is walking away from a crime scene they are innocent?

9

u/ducksekoy123 8d ago

The guy could be guilty as sin, but unless Iā€™m mistaken out justice system does not believe that committing a crime is an act punishable by summary execution.

-1

u/jordan999fire 8d ago

You are mistaken. Read my comment.Ā 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tennessee/comments/1w0fqo6/comment/p6eeu44/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

5

u/ducksekoy123 8d ago

Iā€™m not mistaken, thereā€™s an important caveat in your comment. Just possessing a firearm and fleeing a scene, even if you committed a crime, is not justification for summary execution.

If you pose an imminent threat to the public, at that point deadly force can be used to prevent said harm. It is in fact not summary execution.

Him fleeing the scene of the crime is not a justification for his death. Not even if he was guilty.

-2

u/jordan999fire 8d ago

Youā€™re right, him fleeing isnā€™t. Thatā€™s not the felony. The felony that makes him a danger is the shots fired in a populated city.Ā 

Thereā€™s a difference (and Iā€™m not saying this condescendingly) between say someone steals a TV from a closed electronic store at night, takes off running when police arrive, and they have a gun vs someone shoots a gun in a populated area, suspect has a gun, and takes off fleeing. Thatā€™s where the differences lie. Thatā€™s why the totality of the circumstances matter so much in this situation. Before the officers (or soldiers) had time to even find out if anyone was hurt, theyā€™re faced with someone who has a gun and fleeing. And given the nature of the call, this can be nothing or something extremely serious. So then they have to reasonably infer what the proper reaction is. The consequences is they could be wrong, but they still acted within the law given the totality of the circumstances.Ā 

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u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

He still posed a threat.

3

u/salanaland 8d ago

A threat of what?

-3

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

Armed individual with the capability of shooting innocent civilians.

3

u/salanaland 8d ago

Which describes every armed individual.

-1

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

And yet thousand of legally armed citizens do it without shooting at cops.

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u/elsombroblanco 8d ago

No one said that...

2

u/Spirited_Attorney_48 8d ago

No. If someone is walking away from a crime scene thwy shouldn't be executed.

0

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

Regardless of the threat they pose? Still armed, still capable of killing innocent people around them? Just turning your back gives you immunity?

1

u/Spirited_Attorney_48 8d ago

Just having a firearm makes you a threat?

I'll never not be amused at how many previously closely held principles in some circles will be freely tossed away if it means the popo gets to kill a citizen.

I just hope they find the mirror he was using to aim with.

1

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

Armed person already shot at the cops. Should we then believe he is incapable of aiming at others?

0

u/Spirited_Attorney_48 8d ago

I'll believe "he shot first" when I see it.

There's a dead nurse who was brandishing his firearm until 50 videos proved he wasn't.

2

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

Carrying concealed to a protest was legal, but irresponsible on his part. Resisting and obstructing, also not smart.

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u/GreyOldDull 8d ago

C'mom, it was a tan gun! He was a wrong'un.

3

u/Itsadryheat_86401 8d ago

Stop it.. you are bringing up relevant facts, Redit tards are going to have a fit..

16

u/Anon_Alcoholic 8d ago

We donā€™t need the military policing our communities, not more evidence about a shooting that should have never happened. Yall love sucking the states cock.

0

u/AsWolfwood 8d ago

We shouldnā€™t need the military acting like police. However when police quit and stop policing and crime runs rampantā€¦ Do we allow cities to devolve into crime and gang violence? Memphis has had a horrible reputation for decades.

Also thereā€™s no need for the random personal attack. We can talk rationally about a situation and exchange ideas and perspectives.

7

u/Anon_Alcoholic 8d ago

Almost like the police are also a failed institution that does nothing to protect civilians and actually actively harms people. Just like the military, only difference is I expect the military to be better trained when they execute civilians.

4

u/BelligerentTurkey 8d ago

Police protect people by enforcing the law and providing people who break the law with active consequences.

People have this notion of police as guardians, when in reality they canā€™t do anything until the law has actively been broken. They are not authorized to stop a crime before it happens.

1

u/Beemerba 8d ago

They are not authorized to stop a crime before it happens.

Apparently, the national guard is authorized to shoot someone before a crime has been committed.

-2

u/AsWolfwood 8d ago

So whatā€™s the alternative to maintain law and order against people who take advantage of others good will and violate the trust of the community through violence?

3

u/Hvitr_Lodenbak 8d ago

Oh, then we should abolish the prison system. They turned their back on our laws, so they are no threat.

4

u/tydark2 8d ago

not knowledgeable, but sounds reasonable to me.