Officers involved in fatal shooting at West Knoxville home identified

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The two Knoxville Police officers who were involved in a shooting that left a man dead on Saturday, April 27 have been identified.

Friday afternoon, the Knoxville Police Department identified the officers as Hunter Powers and Cayden Riddle. Both Powers and Riddle graduated from the Knoxville Police Training Academy in February 2023 and were assigned to field operations in the West District.

According to KPD, both officers were placed on a routine administrative leave, per standard protocol.

The shooting happened on April 27 around 7:50 a.m. when officers responded to a home on Santala Drive for a reported domestic situation involving a man with a gun. KPD shared that the shooting happened when Powers and Riddle Entered the home and were met by a man who was armed with a gun. The man, identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as Jamauri Griffin, 25, then allegedly shot a woman in the home, and then officers shot Griffin.

Griffin was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman was taken to UT Medical Center where she was treated for a gunshot wound to her face.

The TBI is investigating the shooting.

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