NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The wife of a man — who died following a police standoff and shooting on the side of Interstate 65 in January — has filed a federal lawsuit against responding police officers and the agencies they work for, claiming excessive force.
Officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Mt. Juliet Police Department shot and killed Landon Eastep after Nashville police say he pulled a shiny cylindrical object from his pocket and stood as if he had a gun.
The shooting came after a standoff lasting more than a half hour, as nine officers formed a near semi-circle around Eastep. He was armed with a box cutter in one hand, before suddenly pulling out the cylindrical object with his other hand.
"We believe the police officers actually created this dangerous situation," said David McKenzie, attorney for Landon Eastep's wife, Chelsey Eastep. "Anytime you put nine guns pointed at somebody and then expect them to act reasonably, that set Landon up for failure that day."
In part, the lawsuit claims training for the responding officers should have led officers to de-escalate the situation before the shooting happened.
Eastep's attorney also takes issue with two shots police fired from a long gun, after Landon was already on the ground after being shot, and an officer had already called for the shooting to stop.
In police bodycam footage and a Facebook video taken nearby, after the rounds of shooting begins, an officer yells "cease fire" twice, before two final distinct shots are heard in the videos.
"It appears the last officer to shoot fired those two rounds directly into him at point blank range, for absolutely no reason," McKenzie said. "If nothing else, that is the excessive force."
After the shooting, Metro Police Chief John Drake directed the police training academy to begin an immediate review.
Metro Nashville and the THP both say they do not comment on pending litigation. The City of Mt. Juliet says it's reviewing the lawsuit.
