Agent cleared in fatal Memphis Burger King shooting, prosecutor releases video of incident
A prosecutor alleged that Darrin Pigram was shot as he was reaching for a gun.
Graphic security video of a fatal shooting involving a federal agent at a Memphis Burger King earlier this year was released on Thursday by a Tennessee prosecutor, who says the video supports his decision to clear the agent involved.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy released the surveillance videos of the shooting that unfolded in May and left Burger King employee Darrin Pigram dead after a team of officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Memphis Police Department attempted to execute an arrest warrant for Pigram.
Mulroy said in a statement that he made the footage public "in the interest of transparency" after he declined on Monday to file charges against the DEA agent who fatally shot the 41-year-old Pigram. He said the use of force was justified.
The district attorney said he met with Pigram's family in private and showed them the security video before he informed their attorney that he would release the footage to the public.
ABC News has reached out to the family's attorney, who was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Mulroy said his decision not to seek charges against DEA Agent Levy Blandon was based on his review of the shooting investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which alleged Pigram was reaching for a handgun when he was shot.
"DEA Agent Levy Blandon fired his service weapon at Mr. Pigram only after Agent Blandon saw Mr. Pigram lift his shirt and reach for a handgun that was partially concealed in Mr. Pigram's waistband," Mulrow wrote in a letter explaining why he declined to file charges in the incident.
As of 2021, Tennessee law permits a large majority of citizens to carry a loaded handgun on their person, openly or concealed, without having to possess a permit, according to the Memphis Police Department website.
Mulroy said there was no officer-worn body camera footage available of the shooting from the agents involved, and the only footage that captured the incident was from security cameras in the fast-food restaurant.
The shooting unfolded around 9:24 a.m. on May 13, when the Memphis Safe Task Force, a unit comprised of DEA agents and Memphis police officers, went to the Burger King to serve Pigram with an arrest warrant, authorities said.
Pigram was wanted for arrest on charges stemming from a felony aggravated assault case, according to Mulroy's letter. The surveillance videos released by Mulroy showed agents carrying long guns as they entered the restaurant and confronted Pigram at the front counter.
The videos, which do not include audio, show Pigram opening a security door to allow officers behind the counter and then apparently trying to push the officers back out in a hallway and attempting to close the door.
The officers, according to the videos, push their way through the door as Pigram is seen retreating to the kitchen area. Video does not show Blandon firing his weapon, but at one point employees are seen ducking for cover as a mortally wounded Pigram falls to the floor near the drive-thru window.
Mulroy wrote in his letter that the agents involved in the arrest alleged that Pigram became "visually and verbally aggressive" when he was informed there was an arrest warrant for him.
Blandon and other law enforcement officers involved in executing the warrant told investigators that Pigram resisted arrest and allegedly said, "shoot me."
Blandon, according to Mulroy's letter, initially fired three shots at Pigram and then several more.
Another DEA agent involved in the incident claimed that as Pigram fell to the floor after being shot, he allegedly saw the gun in Pigram's waistband.
The agent said he bent down to remove the weapon from Pigram's waistband, but Blandon stopped him.
"Because neither had body-worn cameras (BWCs), Agent Blandon realized the scene should be preserved" and told the agent "to leave the weapon alone until its position could be memorialized," according to Mulroy's letter.
Mulroy wrote in his letter that after allegedly seeing Pigram reaching for the weapon, Blandon "had no time to warn" Pigram that force would be used.
"The force used by Agent Blandon was not only lawful but the sole choice available to Agent Blandon given the sudden decision by Mr. Pigram to reach for his concealed weapon," Mulroy wrote.
