Two city police officers on Tuesday described a shootout with a man with a gun outside Sandy's Mini Market in East Chattanooga.
Curtis Brown, who was 34 at the time of the July 11, 2016, incident, is standing trial on charges of attempted murder and gun charges in the courtroom of Judge Tom Greenholtz.
Stephen Huckabee, who left soon after the incident to work with a police department in Florida, said he was on Amnicola Highway about to go off duty when he heard a call over the radio about a man with a gun. He said he drove to the scene on Glass Street.
He said after he arrived at the grocery store parking lot he saw the man with the gun take off running, then trip over a low wall.
Officer Huckabee said at that point the man reached for his waistband and pulled out a silver handgun as he turned toward him. The witness said, "I was pretty close to him. It looked like the biggest thing I had ever seen."
The officer said he pulled his own gun and fired twice. The man ran down Latta Street toward Wheeler Avenue and fell again.
Officer Huckabee said the man again had the gun out and he began firing toward him. "As he ran up Latta Street, he continued to fire," he said.
The officer said he fell himself after the shots rang out. "I was in the middle of the road. I had no cover, no concealment. It felt very vulnerable. I was kind of waiting for the impact."
He said the man veered onto Wheeler Avenue and he lost sight of him.
He said he then conferred with Officer Kelly Downs, who was also at the scene, and they had "an injury check." Neither was hit.
It was decided to back off "for officer safety" and call in other officers to set up a perimeter.
Officer Downs told of hearing two shots fired by Officer Huckabee, then seeing flashes of gunfire from the man with the gun.
Police did not locate Brown that night. He later turned himself in. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the foot.