Crime scene photo by Barry West
A joint drug operation between Manchester Police Department and Coffee County Sheriff’s Department investigators was taking place Wednesday afternoon at Walgreens when things got turned crazy.
Manchester Police Department Assistant Chief Adam Floied told WMSR News the drug operation involved two suspects from out of town. When police began to surround the suspect’s Chevrolet SUV the driver then allegedly put the car in reverse, jumping curbs and entering Highway 55 toward Tullahoma.
According to Floied, officers with Manchester Police Department, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol pursued the vehicle.
Around the 911 Communication Center on Hwy 55 the suspects crossed the median into oncoming traffic. At that time Manchester officers were told to disengage. Floied added, “Right as we called to disengage the suspect collided with a state trooper’s vehicle from the rear.”
According to Floied, after hitting the trooper’s vehicle, the suspect began to back up toward an investigator and the state patrolman and a sheriff’s investigator opened fire.
The suspect then backed through the median and, with a flat tire, came to rest in the westbound lanes near Rose Hill Memorial Gardens.
Floied said, “The driver had an abrasion on his leg but we aren’t sure where that came from at this time.”
The two suspects, Cordarious Tramell and Carlon Bowman, were taken into custody without incident. The addresses are unknown at this time..
Floied said charges are pending from the three agencies involved. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now the leading authority because of officers being involved in a shooting.
Highway 55 was shut down while state investigators reconstructed the scene.
