Maryville police investigate officer-involved shooting

A Greenback man who officers suspect was trying to commit suicide by twice aiming a gun at Maryville police Friday night was shot three times before he threw down his weapon, authorities said.

Michael Huskey, 26, of Greenback, was treated and released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center this morning following the late Friday night incident near an East Maryville business, officials said.

Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said this evening that two aggravated assault warrants were issued for Huskey’s arrest. He was in custody at MPD this evening, but hasn’t been officially charged, the chief said.

Crisp said Huskey’s live-in girlfriend, whose name was not released, could not find him Friday evening, so she went to the business located at 2013 E. Broadway near Eighth Street and found his car, a suicide note and evidence a weapon had been fired. The woman called E-911 dispatchers at 11:34 p.m., and when officers arrived, they found the building empty. They spotted a man with a handgun on the side of the building, the chief said.

Crisp said the man ran and two officers chased him about 100 yards through a grassy area and down a creek beside the business property. The officers ordered the man, who turned out to be Huskey, to drop his .380-caliber semi-automatic, the chief said.

“He said, ‘You’re going to have to shoot me,’ and he showed them the clip to prove the gun was loaded and took aim at both officers before they fired,” Crisp said.

The chief said the man lowered his gun, but refused to drop it.

“He said, ‘You’re going to have to shoot me in the head,’ and then he showed them the clip again, aimed it at the officers a second time and they fired,” Crisp said.

The chief said that at this point, the man asked what the officers wanted him to do with the gun and they told him to throw it down, which he did. Rural/Metro Ambulance personnel took Huskey to U.T. Medical Center for treatment, Crisp said.

When asked where Huskey was wounded, Crisp said he was hit three times but wouldn’t specify where on his body Huskey was hit. “At this point, we don’t have medical records, but they were non-life-threatening wounds,” the chief said.

The officers, whose names were not released, were both carrying .40-caliber semi-automatic Glock handguns. Both are on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, Crisp said.