Wrongful Death Lawsuit Reportedly Filed In Butcher Shooting



A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the brother of a Cannon County man who was shot by two deputies during a Feb. 6 incident on Petty Gap Road, according to a report posted today on the website of The Tennessean newspaper.

Reportedly named as defendants in the lawsuit are Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon, Sheriff Darrell Young and the two unnamed officers.

The report does not indicate in which court the lawsuit has been filed. Both the Cannon County Circuit Court Clerk and the Cannon County Chancery Court said this afternoon that no lawsuits in relation to the incident have been filed with their offices.

Gannon's office also said it has not received notification of a lawsuit.

According to the published report, the wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Nicholas Butcher. It claims that Nicholas’ brother, Richard Butcher, did not pose a significant threat of death or bodily injury to the officers and public and claims the use of deadly force was unreasonable and without justification.

The incident is still under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The TBI has said its investigation could take four to six months to complete. Once it is done, they will turn over their findings to the District Attorney General’s Office.