By Jody Callahan
The Commercial Appeal
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Memphis police officers shot and killed a man who tried to run over them late Tuesday night, officials said.
The incident began about 9:15 p.m. in the parking lot of a Safeway at 4046 Horn Lake near Third in South Memphis, police said.
Store owners there called police about a man sleeping in his car in the lot, with the vehicle still running.
When police arrived, they tried to wake the man, officials said.
At first, the man in the car wouldn’t wake up, police said. Then, he suddenly awoke with a start and got agitated, they said.
At some point after that, police said, the man tried to run them over with his car, which had still been running.
In that attempt, the suspect struck a squad car, police said.
The two officers fired, hitting the suspect, who was pronounced dead on the scene.
It was unclear whether the suspect had a weapon, or if he had one, whether he fired it.
This makes the second fatal police shooting in 2012, following four in 2011 and three in 2010.
It also follows an incident last month when a suspect scuffled with a police officer, then shot him in the chest.
Officer Josh Shearer’s vest likely saved his life in that attack.
Copyright 2012 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.