DA Bryant Dunaway Issues Statement on White County Sheriff's actions in shooting ruled "justified"

As the story of a 33-year-old Clarksville man being shot by a White Co deputy has gone worldwide, District Attorney Bryant Dunaway has issued a statement concerning his original ruling that the shooting was justified. 

Link to CBS News Story on Shooting.

Dunaway's statement is below:

Regarding the April 2017 officer-involved shooting incident in White County, TN, which resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Michael Dial, I would like to make absolutely clear that the District Attorney’s office does not condone or support the behavior and comments of the White County sheriff. The public’s outrage over the sheriff’s behavior and the community’s sympathies for Mr. Dial’s family are shared by this office.

13th Judicial District DA Bryant Dunaway

The decision not to bring charges against the responding officers was based on an evaluation of the individual actions of Mr. Dial and the individual actions of those officers under the circumstances in which those officers found themselves. The sheriff was not present during the pursuit; he did not make the offensive comments until well after the conclusion of the pursuit.

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Over the course of a lengthy pursuit through two counties, Mr. Dial repeatedly, willingly and directly endangered the lives of civilian drivers and law enforcement officers. A complete review of the multiple pursuit videos show Mr. Dial’s truck and trailer driving at times on the wrong side of the roadway directly into oncoming traffic and forcing citizen drivers off the road, proceeding from highways to city streets past schools and businesses, and colliding with police vehicles, all the while
indicating no intent to stop.

In the nearly 10 months that have elapsed since this incident, this office has proactively shared information with the public, beginning with our office petitioning the Chancery Court to authorize the release of the TBI investigative files to be made available to the public, and the distribution of a detailed news release in May 2017.