FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced in January that a deputy shot a knife-wielding man after a chase. Now the deputy has testified that the teenager merely pointed his finger at him in the shape of a gun.
The Tennessean reports that Williamson County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Murphy testified Wednesday at a preliminary hearing for Dalton Elam of Florence, Alabama.
The TBI announced in January that Elam pulled a knife on Murphy after fleeing a traffic stop, crashing and getting out of the car. But the deputy now says Elam was unarmed when he shot him in the leg, and the knife was found in the crashed car.
TBI Communications Director Josh DeVine says the agency based its initial statement on early witness accounts and evidence at the scene.