HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Authorities say they have made another arrest after a Tennessee police officer was struck and killed while chasing a suspect across an interstate highway.
Emani C. Martin Jr., 19, was arrested Tuesday in Nashville, The Tennessean reported. He faces charges including evading arrest and reckless endangerment. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer.
Martin is suspected of being the man Hendersonville police officer Spencer Bristol was chasing on foot across Interstate 95 when he was hit by a passing car Monday night. Authorities have said Bristol had been pursuing a fleeing car that crashed. The driver was immediately arrested, but the passenger fled on foot with Bristol in pursuit. Bristol was then hit by a passing car and taken to a hospital, where he died.
Authorities initially identified a different man as the passenger. A trooper mistook that man for the suspect based on his physical appearance and clothing descriptions and their interaction, but further investigation determined he wasn’t the passenger, Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Miller said. The man was detained on unrelated warrants. It’s unclear if he’s still in custody.