TBI: Knox County deputies' pursuit of suspected kidnapper ended in a barrage of bullets

None of the Knox County Sheriff's officers who chased down and killed a kidnapping suspect near the Georgia state line were wearing body cameras, a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found.

Knox County deputies opened fire and killed a man wanted for kidnapping an 11-year-old girl in February. He was on the run with the girl in the front seat, and officers say he rammed multiple police cars after he was boxed in on an exit ramp in East Ridge, outside of Chattanooga, according to a TBI report obtained by Knox News.

At least seven deputies from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and at least two from the Catoosa County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office participated in the pursuit to find the missing Knox County girl.

While rare, it is legal for law enforcement officers to chase outside their jurisdiction, including crossing a state line.

The deputies ultimately found and killed Edward Ahrens. The TBI report concluded he refused to follow officers’ commands and struck at least two police cars with the open door of his sedan.

Four officers opened fire: Knox County narcotics chief David Amburn, Capt. Aaron Yarnell and Sgt. John Sharp, as well Catoosa County (Georgia) Capt. Jeremy Keener. All four were cleared in June of any criminal wrongdoing by Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp.

Ahrens was struck more than a dozen times, including multiple shots to the head, neck and chest, according to the autopsy report.

There were at least 10 bullet holes in the passenger side windshield of the vehicle where the girl was sitting, according to crime scene photos included in the report. Remarkably, she was unharmed.

What led to the fatal confrontation

Pursuit outside their jurisdiction

While it’s not typical for sheriff’s deputies to cross county lines, they can if the threat is severe enough and deputies are cooperating with local law enforcement agencies, according to two former sheriff’s office officials who spoke with Knox News but didn’t have direct knowledge of the Ahrens chase.

In this case, the girl's kidnapping by a man on the sex offender registry was enough to warrant the response, which was coordinated with officials in Catoosa County, Georgia, where he lived.

Much of the pursuit was what the TBI report calls “loose surveillance,” and they did not turn on lights or sirens until they pulled him over in East Ridge. Several of the vehicles involved were unmarked police cars and it is unlikely Ahrens knew he was being pursued.

No body cameras worn

None of the Knox County officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras. Specialized teams at the sheriff’s office don’t typically require officers wear body cameras and department policy doesn’t specify who should and shouldn’t wear them .

The TBI file included body and dashboard camera footage from one officer, Catoosa County Deputy Mikayla Lowe, who arrived on the scene as shots were being fired. Her cameras were not in view of what led to the shooting and the cameras did not capture the shooting itself.

The TBI's account of what happened comes from interviews with each of the people involved.

How the suspect was tracked

Interviews from deputies involved in the pursuit show a coordinated effort to locate Ahrens.

Multiple Knox County deputies, including Yarnell, were in Georgia waiting on Ahrens. At some point, Yarnell was able to ping Ahrens’ location through the fugitive’s cell phone. Amburn and at least one other deputy were waiting for Ahrens near Cleveland, when the fugitive passed them heading south on Interstate 75.

Boxing Ahrens in

Amburn followed Ahrens and was later joined by Yarnell and others. They decided, with the help of Keener from Catoosa County, to box Ahrens in on the Exit 1 ramp at Ringgold Road, which didn't have many cars nearby at 1 a.m.

Yarnell pulled Ahrens over and Amburn pulled up to the left side of the car while another deputy pulled to the right and Keener pulled in front. According to video and photos of the scene in the report, Ahrens’ vehicle was sideways on the ramp but it is not clear how it got that way.

Events spiral out of control

Yarnell was the first deputy to approach Ahrens, telling him to turn off his car and step out, according to the report. Ahrens did neither and instead, according to the report, backed into Yarnell’s vehicle before pulling forward and hitting the police vehicle in front.

At this point, Yarnell or Amburn or both were able to open the car door, but Ahrens backed up again and the two realized they were in a bad spot, potentially getting pinned between the open car door and the other vehicles. Both men were knocked down by the car door, they reported, and both fired shots (Yarnell, two and Amburn, one).

“Yarnell stated that as Ahrens backed up, he felt that he was going to be injured so he fired (2) rounds into Ahrens before being struck by the open door and knocked to the ground on the passenger side of his vehicle. … He believed that Ahrens was going to kill him as he attempted to crawl away from the vehicle,” the report states.

At this same time, Sharp tried to open the passenger door to grab the girl but was unable. Hearing the gunshots, Sharp fired six shots through the windshield. Likewise, Keener – standing in front – also shot at least six rounds at the vehicle.

At some point, Sharp was able to reach in and put the car in park.

The girl was inside unharmed.

The deputies suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment at the scene, including Lt. Angela Parris who, according to the report, was knocked to the ground and nearly pinned between vehicles.

An internal sheriff's office review completed after the TBI's investigation also exonerated the officers.

Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com . Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ tyler_whetstone .

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe .

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TBI: Knox County deputies' pursuit of suspected kidnapper ended in a barrage of bullets