National Guard troops on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot 20-year-old man, according to TBI

Two Tennessee National Guard soldiers assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force fired shots during a foot pursuit in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing a 20-year-old armed man, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The TBI identified Tyrin Johnson as the shooting victim. Memphis lawmakers described Johnson as a student and young father. The TBI, which investigates officer-involved shootings across the state, confirmed Monday it has opened an independent investigation into the incident at the request of the Shelby County District Attorney.

The National Guard members were assisting Memphis police officers in responding to a report of shots fired in downtown Memphis shortly before 4 a.m., according to a statement released by Memphis Police. When police arrived, they observed several individuals leaving the area, including “an armed male carrying a handgun,” the police statement said. Police and soldiers pursued.

“During the pursuit, the male turned toward (National Guard) members with his weapon,” the statement said. “Tennessee National Guard soldiers discharged their weapons, striking the male.”

Two Tennessee National Guard medical specialists provided first aid, but Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Darrin Haas, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Military Department. 

No officers or soldiers were injured in the incident, according to the TBI.

As of Sunday, there were 1,450 National Guard soldiers assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force, according to Brady McCarron, deputy chief of public affairs for the U.S. Marshals Service. 

The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead agency in the task force, which was convened via a Sept. 15 executive order by President Donald Trump to “restore law and order” in Memphis, the nation’s largest majority-Black city.

Soon after Trump issued the executive order, Gov. Bill Lee deployed the Tennessee National Guard to join hundreds of other law enforcement officers in the multi-agency task force effort, which has brought officers to Memphis from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Services, ATF and a host of other federal law enforcement agencies. The National Guard soldiers first began arriving in Memphis on October 10.

Trump deploys National Guard troops to Memphis for anti-crime task force

The expanded law enforcement presence has drawn pushback from some residents, local leaders and state Democratic officials, who noted that once-high crime rates had begun to dip before the effort got underway. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and other local Democratic leaders filed suit last year to block the deployment, but the Tennessee Court of Appeals in April ruled the elected officials lacked standing to bring a legal challenge.

A separate lawsuit filed in May alleged members of the Memphis Safe Task Force engaged in a pattern of intimidating, assaulting and arresting people for recording and observing their behavior. That lawsuit remains ongoing in federal court.

On Monday, two Memphis Democrats called the fatal shooting a “tragic incident” and demanded a “clear and transparent accounting” in the death of Johnson, who is Black.

“The Tennessee National Guard was operating in Memphis under the authority of the State of Tennessee,” read a statement by Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari and Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar. Both senators represent portions of Memphis in the Tennessee Legislature.

“Tyrin Johnson was just 20-years old — a young father and a student with his whole life ahead of him,” the statement said. “As his family mourns this heartbreaking loss, they deserve clear answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.”

Tennessee National Guard allowed in Memphis while state appeals

The senators called for the release of available body camera footage and surveillance video.

It is not known whether the National Guard in Memphis is outfitted with body cameras. 

“To our knowledge they are not,” said McCarron, the spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals. McCarron referred additional questions about body cameras to the National Guard, which did not immediately respond Monday.

When Lee initially deployed the Guard in September, he told reporters that they would not make arrests or carry weapons unless requested by police.

McCarron declined to answer questions Monday about the number of Guard soldiers in Memphis who are armed, citing the “safety and security of all parties.”

He also declined to specify when Guard members initially began carrying weapons, but noted that all soldiers who are assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force are deputized by the U.S. Marshals Service “on the day they join the task force.”