MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A deadly overnight shooting involving a Bartlett police officer is now in the hands of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations.
Blue lights, military style vehicles and even loud booms all filled a Bartlett neighborhood for hours from Tuesday night into the early morning.
“It’s something I never would’ve thought to happen in Bartlett, the suburb part,” neighbor Yas Meen said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations says it responded to a report of violence at the home on Stage Road. When they got there, 38-year-old Toby Bailey ran inside, barricaded himself and threatened to shoot the officers, TBI officials said.
Family tried to talk to him. They even sang over a loud speaker, but he wouldn’t come out.
TBI officials say eventually Bartlett officers went in.
That’s when they say Bailey raised a gun at them and they fired back. He died on the scene.
Now neighbors are divided.
“What other approaches could’ve been taken besides an entire swat team? Why did it take an entire SWAT team to alleviate the situation? Why was the death of him the solution?” Meen said.
“If the person didn’t come out when the police asked him to, they did what they had to do,” another neighbor said.
Family members say Bailey had just lost his job. He was worried about providing for his wife and four kids. That’s what led to the violence.
But neighbors say this is not the first case of a domestic dispute.
“The police had a history of coming there one or two times before,” Meen said.
Bartlett Police wouldn’t comment on our questions about past calls at the home.
But Bailey’s Shelby County criminal record showed he was sentenced for misdemeanor domestic assault in 2006.
Documents showed it was the second time authorities came to the home for a fight between Bailey and his wife.
Investigators say the officers also shot and killed a Rottweiler dog in the home during the incident.
We asked Bartlett Police for the names of the officers being investigated. They said they had no comment.