CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — A Crossville Police Department detective newly indicted for assault shot and killed a man in 2016 while working as a Lenoir City police officer.
A grand jury declined in 2016 to indict Tyrel Lorenz after he shot and killed a motorist while Lorenz rode in the back of the man's speeding pickup truck.
Lorenz responded to a 911 call claiming Clinton resident Joshua Grubb was driving drunk with others in his pickup truck. He located Grubb at a convenience store on Highway 321 near I-75 and questioned him and the passengers.
After Lorenz placed one passenger in handcuffs—Grubb sped off. That's when the officer jumped into the back of the pickup truck and shot him multiple times after he didn't comply with orders to stop.
Ultimately, Loudon County District Attorney General Russell Johnson said Lorenz wasn't indicted for the death because Grubb was a danger to others.
“He was going to put himself at whatever speed out on the highway at any expense to get himself away from the situation he would’ve endangered others," Johnson said. "And Lorenz stopped him from doing that.”
Now, eight years later, Lorenz has been indicted on one count of assault after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that he "used physical force while affecting the arrest" of someone.
On June 3, 2024, Lorenz interviewed the subject and determined there was sufficient evidence to arrest them. Once the person was informed of their arrest, they resisted, according to CPD.
The police department said Lorenz "effectuated" the arrest and the person was transported to jail without further incident, where he was charged with violation of the sex offender registry and resisting arrest. However, the TBI said the person was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released.
After his indictment, Lorenz turned himself in on Aug. 5 at the Cumberland County Jail and was released on his own recognizance, according to the TBI. CPD placed Lorenz on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of court proceedings.
According to a January 2019 release from the Crossville Police Department, Lorenz was recognized and presented with an award for "going the extra mile to help protect the citizens of our community."