GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Contrary to some posts on social media, the Gatlinburg Police Department said Friday none of its officers shot a bear.
The police department said it learned Friday morning about a false social media claim that an officer shot and killed a bear on July 25. It said the "accusation of the Gatlinburg Police Department discharging a firearm and killing a bear is absolutely untrue."
It said on Thursday at around 11 p.m., an officer responded to a call in the Reagan Drive area from a person who had encountered a bear on his way back home. It said an officer used a firecracker in the area where the bear was reported to be.
"Using firecrackers has been advised as a technique to ‘haze’ a bear by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, to scare the animal away. Individuals around the scene were alerted that the Officer was lighting a firecracker to scare the bear," the police department said in the statement.
GPD also said officers never saw or encountered a bear after using the firecracker.
It also said the incident was corroborated by witness statements from the scene, which acknowledged that an officer threw a firecracker in the bear's direction. GPD also said investigators reviewed body camera footage, which "indicates that the Officer never engaged his weapon or discharged a firearm, nor killed the bear."
The police department also shared body camera footage from the incident. In it, officers discuss using firecrackers "just to be safe" as they approach a set of stairs that are covered with brush and greenery. A person tells officers that a bear was under the stairs before the officers set off the firecrackers. When they go off, they sound similar to a gunshot.
The statement also said the police department was trained by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in June on how to respond to calls with bears before TWRA officers arrive on the scene. During that training, GPD said firecrackers could be used to make loud sounds and scare bears off.
It also said GPD officers carry non-lethal guns that fire beanbags or rubber bullets, used to remove bears from scenes. However, it said officers have been trained not to use them unless they encounter a bear that is a threat to livelihood.