FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee police officer fatally shot an armed man during a welfare check, authorities said.
Franklin police responded Monday night to a request for a welfare check on a man who was threatening self-harm, the agency said.
“Franklin officers received a call from a woman who said her ex-boyfriend was FaceTiming her and he was threatening to commit suicide and he has a gun,” Franklin police Chief Deborah Faulkner told news outlets.
Responding officers made contact with Steven Lawrence Tropia through a door and attempted to get him out of the apartment, according to a statement from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
“As they continued to speak with him, he came out armed with a handgun, resulting in one officer using deadly force,” the statement said.
Tropia was taken to a Nashville hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured.
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The officers who responded were trained for crisis intervention, Faulkner said.
“We just didn’t get an opportunity to use it,” she said.
TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, the agency said.
