Man Killed in Officer Involved Shooting Wanted in 2 Counties– State releases Preliminary Autopsy Report

In a follow-up to the officer involved shooting that took place on Friday evening, December 28, at approximately 10:40 pm. We now know that Mark Luttrell, Jr., 34 years of age, from Tullahoma was the wanted man police went inside Walmart looking for who had outstanding warrants in Coffee and Franklin counties. The Coffee County warrants consisted of Failure to Appear on charges of Manufacturing/Sale/Delivery of a controlled substance; Evading Arrest; and Child Support. The Franklin County warrants included Reckless Endangerment; Driving on a Revoked License; Simple Possession of a controlled substance; and Evading Arrest.
According to police, as officers confronted Luttrell, he pulled a pistol from his waistband and pointed the firearm at the officers. A Tullahoma Police Department officer fired his service weapon in response to the immediate threat striking Luttrell. He died at the scene.
According a Tullahoma Police Department press release, the involved officer has been a certified law enforcement officer for several years and has been an officer of the Tullahoma Police Department since June 2018. The officer previously served as a deputy with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to the TBI investigation, this incident will be reviewed internally by the Tullahoma Police Department. This review process will be done by a panel of experienced officers.
In a statement from Tullahoma Police, “the safety of the public and the officer is paramount in all that the Tullahoma Police Department does.” “To be clear, all of the preliminary indications are that the officers involved acted appropriately and with this safety directive in mind during the incident in question.” The statement went onto say, “however, should the TBI investigation or the internal review determine otherwise, the Tullahoma Police Department will take appropriate measures to ensure that its mission to protect and serve this community is accomplished in a professional and competent manner.” The officers involved in this incident have been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott said that Luttrell’s body was sent to the Tennessee Medical Examiner’s Office in Nashville for an autopsy. The preliminary report indicates that Luttrell was shot a minimum of 3 times. It will be several months before that report is completely done.