Driver, passenger arrested after shots fired near Memphis police
The 24-year-old driver of a vehicle that was chased by Memphis police after shots were fired was charged with attempted murder and other crimes following his arrest early Thursday.
LaDarren Easley was booked into the Shelby County Jail shortly before 1 a.m. on two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of evading arrest and two counts of reckless driving.
The passenger in Easley's vehicle also has been arrested, police said on Twitter at about 11 a.m. Thursday. Authorities have not released the suspect's identity.
Easley was arrested following a chase that began when someone fired shots near police officers Wednesday afternoon in North Memphis, according to MPD. Officers chased the suspect's vehicle until it crashed in a neighborhood in Midtown where children were walking.
The sequence of events began when officers were working in the area of Woodlawn and Chelsea, an area Lawrence said is known for drug deals.
"They were checking an abandoned car when shots were fired," Maj. M.D. Lawrence said. "They assumed they had been shot at while they were over there checking the area. One of my officers — I'm not going to give you his name yet — felt gunshots coming over his head."
That's when the suspects got into the vehicle and police began to chase them. Lawrence said he personally gave the officers approval to continue the chase.
"I let the pursuit continue on simply because it was a violent felony, shots fired at a police officer."
The suspect's vehicle crashed at Forrest and Avalon in Midtown, hitting a fence, then a light pole and finally a tree, Lawrence said.
After arresting the driver police used a helicopter and other methods to search for the passenger.
No officers had serious injuries, though one policeman had a scrape on his hand, Lawrence said. The arrested suspect was also uninjured.
The police department had put up crime scene tape around an intersection in the neighborhood of well-kept homes and "Save the Greensward" signs.