UPDATE: 9/16/2021 The 2019 shooting death of a man by five law enforcement officers was ruled justified Thursday.
According to the Shelby County District Attorney’s office, Willie Hudson, Jr. opened fire from a trailer, critically wounding a deputy. Officers returned fire, shooting Hudson 58 times.
The following is a news release from the Shelby County District Attorney’s office:
Trailer Park Shooting Ruled Justified
Five law enforcement officers who returned fire and killed a suspect wanted for attempted murder in 2019 acted with legal justification, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.
One of the officers was critically wounded when the suspect, Willie Hudson Jr., opened fire from a hiding spot inside a trailer on Sept. 18, 2019, on Haven Circle off of Hernando Road in South Memphis.
The decision was based on a detailed report by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crime Response Team. The report was examined by the Officer Involved Death Review Team, which includes DA Weirich and five senior prosecutors.
The officers included four members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team and a Memphis police officer with a K-9. Hudson, 33, had felony arrest warrants for attempted first-degree murder and for convicted felon in possession of a handgun related to a shooting of a man six days earlier in the Peppertree Apartments.
The officers learned from residents that Hudson was hiding inside a crawl space behind a bookcase in a small bedroom in the single-wide trailer. After repeated commands to come out and surrender were ignored by the suspect, two officers who began pulling back the bookcase were met with gunfire from Hudson.
One officer was struck several times in the arm and the left thigh, while another officer was bitten by the K-9 in the commotion. The three officers returned fire until the two who were injured could be removed and taken to a hospital. The MPD K-9 handler’s body-worn camera shows events up to the moment of confrontation, but shuts down as the dog pulls violently on his leash. There is nothing to indicate the officer turned off the camera.
Two other sheriff’s officers then entered the room, and a second round of shooting began after an officer shouted at Hudson, “Don’t do it. Do not touch that weapon.” Hudson, who had told acquaintances earlier he was not going back to jail and was not coming out alive, was still in the small hiding space when he was pronounced dead. His black-and-gray handgun was recovered nearby.
An autopsy showed Hudson sustained 58 gunshots to his torso, arms, legs, and feet. "The number of shots fired is not relevant under the law in determining whether these officers were justified in their response,” said DA Weirich. “This was an unexpected, life-or-death gunfight in close quarters involving a desperate suspect and five officers, one of whom was immediately hit several times. These officers were there to make a lawful arrest of a violent felon who without warning inflicted serious bodily injury on one officer and posed a deadly threat to the others.”
The ruling weighs only Tennessee criminal law. It does not address law enforcement policy, procedures, or training, and also does not consider civil liability.
The TBI report, as well as a PowerPoint summary by DA Weirich, can be viewed at https://www.scdag.com/officer-involved-deaths. Redactions have been made in accordance with Tennessee law and privacy standards.
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SHELBY CO., Tenn. (localmemphis.com) – Four members of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office are on administrative leave following a deadly shootout of a suspect Wednesday in south Memphis.
Sheriff Floyd Bonner announced that and other new details Friday in the case which is now led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Wanted suspect Willie Hudson died in an exchange of gunfire with authorities during a fugitive operation on Haven Circle. Sheriff Bonner made those updated comments Friday since he was out of town Wednesday when the deputies were injured.
“We are very fortunate,” Sheriff Bonner said.
A grateful Sheriff Bonner weighed in Friday after he visited Thursday at the homes of two deputies injured earlier this week.
“Our officers, thank God, are doing well,” Sheriff Bonner said.
Authorities said Hudson – who wanted in connection to a shooting last week in Whitehaven – was armed and shot and killed during a confrontation on Haven circle.
“They went in and looked for these guys and it’s just a dangerous job,” Sheriff Bonner said.
The sheriff said one of his deputies was bitten by a Memphis Police K-9; the other deputy shot six times in the body and once in his bulletproof vest.
“Right now we are focusing on getting our officers better,” Sheriff Bonner said.
The deputy who was shot was Josh Fox, a 21-year veteran of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Fox also ran for an Arlington alderman position Thursday night, which he narrowly lost.
“He’s doing well, he’s surrounded by his family, his parents who came in from out of town,” Sheriff Bonner said.
Sheriff Bonner said it’s not protocol for members of the Multi-Agency Gang Unit or Fugitive Apprehension Team to wear body cameras, since most of their work is undercover in plain clothes.
“They have heavy duty bulletproof vests,” Sheriff Bonner said. “They don’t wear the normal vest that’s under the shirt that you see officers wear, they wear a little more body armor if you will.”
The TBI will release its findings to Shelby County District Attorney Attorney District Attorney Amy Weirich, who will determine whether charges are warranted. Sheriff Bonner said the injured deputies will receive counseling in the weeks ahead.