MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police have charged a man in connection with the death of an off-duty Memphis police officer.
Lorenzo Clark, 36, has been charged with felony possession of a firearm.
According to police, Clark is a neighbor of 31-year-old Terence Olridge. He lives two houses down.
Olridge was shot multiple times near his home just as he was leaving for work, according to police.
Three witnesses told WREG he was not wearing his uniform.
“While on his way to work on October 11, 2015, Officer Olridge had an encounter with his neighbor Lorenzo Clark. The encounter ended with gunfire exchange between Olridge and Lorenzo Clark. Officer Olridge was struck by the gunfire from Clark. After the shooting, Officer Olridge went back to his residence and tried to get help,” said a MPD spokesperson.
Neighbors said his four-month pregnant fiance found him in the driveway.
Olridge died at the hospital.
WREG confirmed both men fired weapons in the altercation. Police said the gun Olridge fired was his service weapon but did not release any more details.
Neighbor Karen Lax recalled seeing flashing lights tearing down her street, responding to the shooting death of Olridge.
She said she has known for at least a year that Clark could have anger issues, starting with a note her next-door-neighbor got.
“It said get your bleeping dog crap out of my bleeping yard, and I knew right away who it was from,” Lax said.
Another time, she said she saw Clark confront that neighbor, accusing him of messing with a cable wire, and again, that his dog allegedly left messes.
“He looked like he was just so enraged. He kept getting up in his personal space or beyond his space. He kept pushing his chest right up against my neighbor’s chest,” Lax said.
She said she believed Olridge and Clark could have known each other, but she was not aware of any possible problems.
Clark has a lengthy criminal record.
WREG obtained a police report from this summer. His cousin claims he pulled a gun on her and her little boy.
There is still a stain on the sidewalk outside Clark’s home and what appear to possibly be bullet holes on both sides of the street.
One witness said he counted nearly 50 shell casings.
Clark’s family told WREG off-camera he believed someone, possibly Olridge, was harassing him, driving by his house, and even pointing a gun at him.
WREG saw security cameras outside Clark’s home, and neighbors said police possibly confiscated footage and weapons after the shooting.
Olridge is the fourth Memphis officer shot to death in just over four years and the second to be fatally shot in the past two and a half months.
Terence Olridge joined the department in September 2014.
