Marion County and state authorities are working to identify the man who confronted a deputy sheriff with a weapon and was shot to death early Saturday, Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said.
He said the sheriff's office was called at 6:19 a.m. about a man asleep on the porch of a home on Lock and Dam Road. The location is off state Highway 27 on the west side of the Tennessee River across from Hales Bar.
The deputy arrived to hear what the sheriff called "a warning shot" by someone at the scene. The man fled into the woods and the deputy followed and confronted him. The man showed a firearm and the officer told him "several, several" times to drop the weapon, Burnett said. When the man didn't obey and pointed the weapon at the deputy, the officer fired, the sheriff said.
The deputy, who was unharmed, was placed on paid administrative leave, which is policy in an officer-involved shooting.
See Sunday's Times Free Press for complete coverage.