Six West Tennessee law enforcement officers are facing a set of charges following an investigation by TBI Special Agents. At the request of the 29th Judicial District Attorney General Danny Goodman, TBI Special Agents began investigating the circumstances surrounding allegations of excessive force during an arrest that occurred in October.
During the course of the investigation, agents learned that an officer with the Mason Police Department initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle matching the description of a subject wanted out of Shelby County for the murder of his girlfriend. The driver, Jackson Hopper, refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. Deputies with multiple agencies joined the pursuit. The subject led law enforcement through three counties before crashing on Highway 51 in Dyer County.
Yesterday, the Dyer County Grand Jury returned indictments charging six law enforcement officers with charges ranging from official misconduct, official oppression, assault, and tampering with evidence. The officers are with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, and Mason PD.
All six turned themselves in and were booked into the Dyer County Jail. They have each been released on a $25,000 bond.
Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box released a statement which read in part, “I am saddened by the indictment of six officers who heroically assisted my deputies in the capture of a man who had just murdered his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight in Shelby County. These officers are good men and . . . they are suffering with their families for in the line of duty actions. We appreciate them coming into Dyer County because our deputies needed their help capturing a suspect who made a 911 call threatening to kill again with the gun he still had in his possession.”
Lauderdale County Sheriff Brian Kelley also released a statement, in which he said an internal investigation determined that departmental policy violations occurred, and the officers received significant disciplinary action but there was no evidence warranting criminal prosecution. “Until proven otherwise,” he said, “I support all the officers who put their lives on the line against an impossible situation.”