Suspected DUI Driver Shot after Chase, Brandishing Shotgun at Police

Pigeon Forge police officers shot a man early Friday morning after an attempted traffic stop resulted in a chase and ended when the man exited his vehicle with a shotgun.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a preliminary investigation found that officers with the Pigeon Forge Police Department attempted to stop a suspected DUI driver on the Parkway just before 4 a.m. on March 1, 2019. The driver refused to stop and led officers on a chase into Gatlinburg, then turned around and headed back through Pigeon Forge toward Sevierville.

Officers with the Sevierville Police Department deployed spike strips in the northbound lanes of the Parkway as the driver crossed into Sevierville city limits, disabling the vehicle.

Police say the driver, identified as 18-year-old Johnathon A. Sellers, got out of the vehicle with a shotgun. Three Pigeon Forge officers fired upon Sellers, striking him.

“The driver exited the vehicle, brandished a weapon,” the Pigeon Forge Police Department said in a statement. “Our officers were forced to shoot the suspect.”

Emergency services transported Sellers to a local hospital for treatment. His condition was not released. No officers were injured.

TBI is investigating the incident at the request of 4th District Attorney General James Dunn. “TBI Special Agents and Forensic Scientists continue to work to gather any and all relevant interviews and evidence,” the agency said. “As is our policy, the TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents.”