PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is examining the circumstances surrounding a fatal officer-involved shooting involving deputies with the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the TBI, the investigation was requested by 4th Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn following the shooting, which occurred early Wednesday morning, June 24, at a hotel in the 4000 block of Parkway in Pigeon Forge.
Preliminary information indicates Sevier County deputies responded to the hotel after receiving information that 40-year-old LeRoy Brooks, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant from Knox County, was staying there.
Deputies located Brooks inside a hotel room. During the encounter, for reasons that remain under investigation, three deputies fired their weapons, striking Brooks.
Brooks was pronounced dead at the scene. No deputies were injured.
TBI special agents are conducting an independent investigation, which includes collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and determining the sequence of events that led to the shooting.
Once the investigation is complete, the TBI will submit its findings to District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn for review. The district attorney will determine whether the deputies’ actions were legally justified.
The TBI emphasized that its role is limited to investigating the facts and that it does not make determinations regarding the justification of an officer’s use of force.
The investigation remains ongoing.
