The driver in a high-speed chase Monday morning left chaos and destruction in his wake before his vehicle crashed and burned near the Ooltewah Cracker Barrel.
By the time the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, took to nearby woods on foot after the fiery crash, he had smashed into at least one police vehicle, wildly dragged a fence behind him and - not once, but twice - sped down Interstate 75 in the wrong direction, according to a Chattanooga Police Department report.
Several traffic accidents occurred in the vicinity of the suspect's flight, with one police officer suffering non-life-threatening injuries when a semi truck hit his vehicle from the rear.
On three separate occasions, the man drove his vehicle straight at law enforcement officers, drawing gunfire during two of those attempts. Another officer fired at the suspect when he wrecked.
"During the course of the entire pursuit, he presented threats through his desperate actions to our law enforcement officers that they perceived needed and justified use of force," Chattanooga police Chief of Staff David Roddy said during a media conference Tuesday afternoon.
All three officers who fired their weapons have been placed on mandatory, seven-day leave in accordance with department weapon discharge policies, police spokesman Kyle Miller said.
The police department likely will not identify the three officers until after their leave period ends, Roddy said.
In the immediate aftermath of the crashes and shooting, law enforcement officers swarmed Ooltewah in a manhunt and closed a portion of I-75.
By Tuesday afternoon, the ground search operation transitioned into an investigative operation, looking into the suspect's associates and hangouts, Roddy said.
Police have not apprehended the suspect, described as an unshaven white male with tattooed arms and dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Miller indicated Tuesday that the suspect could have at least nine outstanding warrants, including at least one felony, according to preliminary investigation efforts.
Chattanooga police said they consider the suspect dangerous, but could not confirm whether he is armed.
Roddy urged local residents to go about their daily business, but to remain vigilant and report anything unusual.
"We have put resources in place in the area he is believed to be to make sure there is no threat to the public," Miller said. "But remember, this person did not target anyone of the public, he was targeting and running from police."
The chase began at 9:52 a.m. when two investigators approached a number of individuals at the 700 block of Watts Avenue as part of a stolen vehicle investigation, Roddy said.
"One of those individuals jumped into a car and attempted to flee the scene in a very reckless and dangerous manner," Roddy said.
The suspect, who had been working on a blue SUV, put the vehicle in reverse and struck one of the investigator's vehicles, according to a Chattanooga Police Department timeline of the events.
During the pursuit, the suspect travelled north on I-75 southbound, while the two investigators followed on the correct side of the interstate.
The suspect attempted to hit a third officer, who had been attempting to stop traffic at Exit 11, head on. That officer fired at the suspect, who then crossed the interstate median and drove against the flow of I-75 northbound traffic and towards the initial investigators.
One of the two investigators then fired at the suspect, who left the road, bringing the vehicle chase to an end.
Miller said the chase suspect was not necessarily the focus of the initial stolen vehicle investigation which prompted his flight.
Roddy praised assistance received from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and federal law enforcement officials.
"The brazenness of this criminal, his disregard for the safety of this community and the way law enforcement responds in this community showed itself again," Roddy said. "It wasn't a one-team effort. It was all the teams that you've seen come to help the community of Chattanooga when it's threatened, did the same thing again today."
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.