ERIN, Tenn. — The subject of a second Blue Alert issued Tuesday evening has been captured.
BJ Brown, a 32-year-old man from Louisiana, was wanted by the Erin Police Department, for the attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, according to the Tennesee Bureau of Investigation.
They said an Erin police officer who tried to pull over a car on Highway 149 was injured when the driver stepped out of the car with a gun and shot at the officer's cruiser. They said the officer shot back and Brown ran back into some woods, still carrying a gun. The officer was taken to a Nashville hospital for treatment on a helicopter.
Brown was found at around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday around 2 miles from where the shooting happened. He was taken into custody and charged with attempted first-degree murder. He is being held in the Houston County Jail.
Tuesday morning, the TBI also released a separate BLUE Alert for a man accused of the attempted criminal homicide of a Hendersonville police officer.
What is a Blue Alert?
Tennessee's Blue Alert system -- which was established in 2011 and runs through the same system used for AMBER Alerts -- has only been used a handful of times in the past few years. The purpose is to alert people across the state about fugitives who attacked and seriously hurt or killed a law enforcement officer in order to help authorities quickly arrest the suspect.
However, in the times the state has issued a Blue Alert -- people criticized the alerts for being too vague or not knowing what a Blue Alert was. In the past, the TBI said the alert system was not administered by the TBI and was limited to 90 characters. The TBI said in 2018 that it was going to review its alert policies and work on the system to make them more comprehensive and informative.
In order for a Blue Alert to be issued, the TBI's website said all of the following things need to be met:
- A sworn law enforcement officer is killed, sustains life-threatening injuries or the officer is missing in the line of duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law enforcement officer’s safety and;
- The suspect(s) pose(s) an imminent threat to public safety and law enforcement personnel and;
- A description of the offender or vehicle is available for statewide broadcast to the public and law enforcement 911 centers.
- Prior to activation, if the suspect(s) is/are identified, the requesting agency will immediately: Place the suspect in the temporary felon file in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Obtain felony warrants as soon as possible or within 24 hours and enter the offender into NCIC.
- The head of any Tennessee law enforcement agency, Colonel of the Highway Patrol, Chief, Sheriff or their designee of the investigating law enforcement agency of jurisdiction requests the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to activate the Blue Alert system.
