MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New video obtained by WREG may shed more light into the TBI investigation of an officer-involved shooting .
The video showed the moments after a Memphis Police Officer shot and killed a man running from them after he reportedly opened fire Wednesday afternoon.
WREG has blurred the video but you can see 32-year-old Johnathan Bracher lying on the ground and officers surrounding him behind St. Andrews AME Church on South Parkway East.
TBI agents were back out at the scene off South Parkway East and Kerr for most of Thursday.
Throughout the day the crime scene remained spanned across several blocks around South Parkway East causing confusion for drivers in the South Memphis area.
TBI agents searched for clues to try to piece together Wednesday afternoon’s officer-involved shooting that left Bratcher dead.
“A pursuit that led to a crash that led to a foot pursuit that led to an officer-involved shooting,” said TBI spokesperson, Josh DeVine.
Family and friends WREG has spoken with believe Bratcher never shot at officers.
The TBI said officers were chasing two suspects, Bratcher and another man, but they haven’t told us who shot at the officers.
They also couldn’t say why the men ran from officers when they tried to stop their gold Chevy Impala.
“The information we have at this point is that it was a routine traffic stop,” explained DeVine.
WREG obtained cellphone video of Bratcher on the ground.
“I seen him fall, he fell and then he stumbled a little bit and then he never moved,” said Anthony Merritt, who captured the video.
At one point during the video you could see officers push away a dark object lying near the 32-year-old ex-convict.
Right now no one is saying what that object was.
“Tojo, everybody know him by Tojo,” said Merritt.
Merritt said he thinks he heard about 15 shots.
Joseph Lee Beard said he heard them too and ran to the area where he saw officers congregating and give Bratcher CPR.
“He had rubber gloves on, blue gloves and he was pumpin him, pumpin him,” said Beard.
It’s unclear if the video of police giving CPR was recorded before or after the video showing officers standing around Bratcher’s body.
“I watched him, I watched him die,” said Merritt.
WREG asked the TBI for an update on the second man involved but haven’t heard back.
TBI is handling the investigation.
Once it is complete they will turn over their findings to Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich who will decide if the shooting was justified.
It is up to the Memphis Police Department to release the names of the officers involved.
