Nashville Officer Wounds Man In Hand 'After He Refuses To Drop Gun'

Press release from the City of Nashville:

6/3/2020

MNPD Officer Wounds Man in the Hand After he Refuses to Drop Gun

A pistol-carrying man shot in the hand this morning by a Metro police officer after he refused commands to drop his gun is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and will be facing a number of criminal charges when he is discharged. He is identified as Jotez Anderson, 27, a Tennessee parolee who is the subject of a parole revocation warrant issued Tuesday by the state.

MNPD officers were called to a duplex in the 2100 block of 18th Avenue North by Anderson’s ex-girlfriend, who had been involved in a dispute with Anderson and his current girlfriend during the night. Apparently, the ex-girlfriend had been following the other two in their travels. The ex-girlfriend said that the current girlfriend had pulled a gun on her, and that Anderson was also armed and had an outstanding warrant. When North Precinct Field Training Officer Joshua Green and his partner, Officer David Harms arrived, Green saw Anderson running toward him from the rear of the duplex with pistol in hand. Green yelled for Anderson to drop the gun, which was pointed toward him. Anderson did not comply and Green fired. Anderson continued to run to the front of the duplex, where Harms yelled for him to drop the pistol. Anderson refused and pointed the gun toward Harms, who fired. Anderson ran into the duplex and then exited through a window. He ran to a property next door and hid behind a car. Other responding officers found him there, saw that he had a wound between the thumb and index finger on his right hand, and provided first aid. Anderson walked to an ambulance and was transported to Vanderbilt.

Witnesses confirm that the officers yelled for Anderson to drop his gun. The pistol was found in a bathroom vanity inside the duplex. It is unclear at present which officer’s gunfire caused the wound to Anderson’s hand.

Anderson was sentenced to 16 years for attempted first-degree murder in regard to the shooting of a teenager and the separate armed robbery of a man in a McDonald’s parking lot, both cases occurring in 2010. He was also wanted for domestic assault in a warrant issued last month involving a woman not associated with today’s events.

Anderson is also under investigation by federal authorities in regard to possessing the gun as a convicted felon.

Officer Green is a five year MNPD veteran. Officer Harms graduated from the MNPD Academy in February. Both are on routine administrative assignment as the MNPD & the TBI conduct parallel investigations.

Jotez Anderson, 27

Officer Joshua Green

Officer David Harms

This press release was produced by the City of Nashville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.