LOUDON, Tenn. — The Loudon Police Department released several new details after state agents said one of their officers shot and wounded a suspect armed with a knife last Thursday, saying officers pleaded and ordered for the man to drop the weapon as he screamed and "begged" for them to shoot him.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident independently to verify the circumstances, saying the man suffered non-life-threatening wounds.
According to the arrest report, Loudon police officers Kenny Ridings, Kent Russell, Sgt. Scott Newman and Detective Brian Jenkins arrived at Malibu Boats at 5075 Kimberly Way around 11:45 a.m. on February 24 to serve an arrest warrant to Joshua Wilson.
Officers said they had probable cause to believe Wilson was armed with a knife and had assaulted another man -- a civil process server who was serving papers to Wilson at the same location -- less than an hour before they arrived.
According to the first arrest report, Wilson had pushed the man off the sidewalk and threatened to "cut the **** out of him." The man said he saw Wilson reaching toward his bulging back pocket, and believed Wilson may have had a knife or box cutter on him. Officers said the man was equipped with a body camera that recorded the incident, saying another witness was able to corroborate his statements.
When police arrived, they said Wilson began yelling that they would "have to kill him" and refused to comply with orders after they told him he was being arrested. Officers said he then pulled out a folding knife with a blade about 4-inches long from his pocket and "gripped it in a fighting manner."
Officers said they yelled at Wilson to drop the knife, warning him that they would shoot him if he did not. Officers said he continued to scream they would have to kill him, "begging" them to shoot him.
The officers' report said he backed away while lunging forward toward them several times, "putting us in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury due to the deadly weapon (knife) he was wielding."
Officers said 18 minutes had passed, and during the incident, they traveled nearly three-quarters of a mile from inside the business to outside, over a hill, and through a cornfield -- saying all the while they pleaded and ordered for Wilson to drop the knife.
"After exhausting all other available means to effect this arrest and reasonably fearing that the armed Wilson presented a threat of serious injury to others if not immediately apprehended, Wilson was shot by Officer Kenny Ridings," the arrest report concluded.
No officers were hurt during the incident, according to authorities.
Wilson was scheduled to appear in court on March 1. He is facing several counts of aggravated assault and resisting arrest.