Suspect held in deputy's death

By Mike O'Neal and Gary Tanner

Staff Writers

Deputy Donald Bond on Thursday became the first Hamilton County Sheriff's Department officer shot and killed in the line of duty in nearly 80 years.

Marlon Duane Kiser, 31, of 8512 East Brainerd Road is being held without bond in the Hamilton County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in Hamilton County General Sessions Court on Sept. 14.

District Attorney Bill Cox said his office is reviewing the case and will decide "at the appropriate time'' whether to seek the death penalty for Mr. Kiser.

Investigators said Deputy Bond was shot at Nunley's Produce in the 9000 block of East Brainerd Road between 1:25 a.m. and 2:18 a.m. Thursday, possibly with an assault rifle.

At a news conference later Thursday, Sheriff John Cupp said the officer's pistol and part of the protective vest he was wearing were missing from the scene. Chattanooga Police SWAT team commander Lt. Mike Williams said Mr. Kiser was seen throwing a pistol, later identified as the deputy's, and a front panel of the deputy's body armor off a deck at the rear of the house at 8512 East Brainerd Road, where Mr. Kiser was arrested.

Deputy Bond was the first Hamilton County Sheriff's Department officer to be shot and killed since Deputy John Snyder on May 13, 1923, Sheriff Cupp said. The most recent death of a sheriff's deputy on duty was in a 1989 traffic accident, he said. The most recent death of a Chattanooga Police Department officer in the line of duty was in 1979, when Park Police Officer Harry Wilcox was shot and killed in a city park, according to the Police Department's Web site.

Deputy Bond was shot when he stopped at the East Brainerd fruit-and-vegetable stand to check on a suspicious vehicle parked there, according to Sheriff Cupp.

Before the shooting, Deputy Bond had told dispatchers at 1:25 a.m. that he was resuming his patrol after answering a complaint about a barking dog, Sheriff Cupp said. When dispatchers tried to contact Deputy Bond at 2:18 a.m. to send him to another call for service, he did not respond. Calls to his wireless phone went unanswered.

Officers were advised of his last known location and were alerted to look for him, Sheriff Cupp said. The sheriff said the department has no policy requiring deputies to check in periodically with dispatchers.

But at 2:38 a.m. Deputy Kevin Floyd reported that there was an "officer down" and called an ambulance to Nunley's Produce. Deputy Bond was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff Cupp said Deputy Bond was found beside his patrol car and had been shot a number of times with what may have been an AK-47 assault rifle.

"(Deputy Bond) saw activity at the fruit stand and stopped to check it out," Sheriff Cupp said.

During the investigation into the shooting, informants notified police that a suspect could be found at 8512 East Brainerd Road, Lt. Williams said.

At about 5:15 a.m. the Chattanooga Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics squad set up at a nearby church, according to Lt. Williams.

The SWAT team was called in because police had been told Mr. Kiser may have a high-powered rifle with a telescopic sight, an assault rifle and other weapons in the house, Lt. Williams said.

East Brainerd Road was closed near Mr. Kiser's house as officers moved close to the small, wood-frame residence.

"We had an armored vehicle nearby in case we needed it," Lt. Williams said.

Neighbors said they were unaware of anything amiss until they were awakened by police telling them to evacuate.

"At 5:30 a.m. a SWAT sniper and FBI man woke me up, explained what happened and told us we needed to leave," said Michelle Hutto, who lives across the street. "We saw it was very real and left."

Lt. Williams said no federal officers were involved in the operation.

SWAT officers set up outside the darkened house.

"At 7:53 a.m. we saw movement inside the house," Lt. Williams said. "The suspect came out and threw some things -- the front panel of body armor, the officer's pistol and some dark clothing -- off a deck."

Apparently unaware of the SWAT team's presence, Mr. Kiser left the house with car keys in hand, Lt. Williams said. Mr. Kiser then struggled, was taken "to his knees" and arrested by waiting officers, the lieutenant said.

"He seemed surprised to see officers so close to him," Lt. Williams said.

Mr. Kiser was taken to Erlanger hospital for observation before being moved to the Chattanooga Police Department's Police Services Center for questioning, Sheriff Cupp said.

Officers searched the house where the arrest was made Thursday, and East Brainerd Road around Nunley's Produce remained closed well into the afternoon. Chattanooga detectives are investigating the case to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Sheriff Cupp said.

At a time when he normally would be serving a dining room full of lunch customers, restaurant owner Johnny Hennen and his staff at Bone's Smokehouse at 9012 East Brainerd Road waited Thursday for the road to be reopened. But he wasn't complaining.

"Last night at 9:30 I put some (pork) butts and briskets into the oven to cook and then this morning I get to work and find out someone's been killed -- someone who has been a customer," Mr. Hennen said.

E-mail Mike O'Neal at moneal@timesfreepress.com

E-mail Gary Tanner at gtanner@timesfreepress.com

Bond shooting timeline 1:25 a.m. Thursday -- Deputy Donald Bond radios the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department dispatcher to say that he is back in service after answering a dog barking call. 2:18 a.m. Officer Bond does not respond to calls from the dispatcher on his police radio or wireless phone. A radio alert giving his last known location, in East Brainerd, is issued for a missing officer. 2:38 a.m. Officer Kevin Floyd of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department finds Officer Bond in the 9000 block of East Brainerd Road, radios the dispatcher that there is an "officer down" and requests an ambulance. 3:30 a.m. The Chattanooga Police Department's SWAT team is advised of the shooting. 5:15 a.m. The SWAT team is deployed to a house at 8512 E. Brainerd Road. 7:53 a.m. Officers detect movement inside the house, approach the residence and apprehend a suspect. Staff Graphic by Laura E. Walker