SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. — Sevier County deputies and Sevierville police officers won't face criminal charges for shooting and killing a man during an armed standoff with another man that happened back in May, District Attorney General James Dunn announced Friday.
Dunn called the death of David Wright, a 63-year-old Sevierville man, "horrible and tragic." An officer shot Wright during a standoff at his home with another man who lived there, Daryl Higdon.
Dunn said the incident began during the evening of May 12. Police said Higdon drove away from a traffic stop when they tried to pull him over for having a suspended license on Dolly Parton Parkway. The officer called for assistance from other officers and the Sevier County Sheriff's Office.
Officers then went to Higdon's listed address in the New Center Community at 2739 Holly Drive. When officers knocked on the door, David Wright opened the door. Dunn said Wright also lived at the address with his wife, Vickie Wright.
The officer said he drew his gun and began yelling commands after he spotted Higdon inside the home with a rifle while talking to Wright. Dunn said the officer shot twice, which they said led to Higdon firing his rifle several times inside the home. Officers said Higdon began shooting at them from inside the home at both the front and rear entrances. Six deputies at the shooting said they sought cover after the gunfire started.
Higdon was the only person inside the home that was shooting at officers, according to Wright's wife and officers.
At one point, officers said they were told Higdon was coming outside the front of the home. However, David Wright was the one who appeared at the door, and one of the officers shot him, Dunn said. Wright died from the gunshot wound.
Two deputies suffered minor injuries, and a K-9 was also shot. Authorities said the K-9 was recovering. When the shooting was over, officers said they found 64 spent rifle cartridge cases in and around the home.
Sevier County Sheriff Michael Hodges said the night of the shooting that a second person was also shot and wounded in the home. That person was eventually identified as Higdon, who was taken to an area hospital for treatment before being arrested.
After reviewing evidence and body camera footage, Dunn said the officers involved in the shooting won't face criminal charges.
"One, the death of David Wright is horrible and tragic; and two, the death of David Wright is not the result of any criminal conduct on behalf of any law enforcement officer," Dunn said. "I have concluded that the officers involved share no criminal culpability in the tragic death of David Wright and have closed that aspect of the investigation."
When the incident was first reported in May, Sevier County authorities and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation did not say who shot Wright, calling the incident an "officer-involved shooting" and saying there was "an exchange of gunfire between an individual within the residence and the officers outside."
A Sevier County grand jury issued charges against Higdon, including for first-degree murder. His case is next scheduled to be heard in court on Sept. 18 at 9 a.m.