UPDATE: This from ERPD Facebook page:
The fugitive was located after an extensive air and ground search by multiple law enforcement agencies. The fugitive engaged officers several times with gunfire before ultimately being shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The East Ridge Police Department is thankful for the assistance of the local, state, and federal officers as well as the outpouring of support from the community. Please keep Corporal Prescott and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from this incident.
UPDATE: Law enforcement officials tracked the suspect to Lake Winnepesaukah within a few hours of the incident. According to local news outlets, helicopters hovered over the area with a heavy police presence along with law enforcement across the region on the ground. Several nearby residents reported numerous volleys of gunshots. As of 7:10 p.m. the suspect has not been taken into custody.
An East Ridge police officer was shot early Sunday afternoon during a traffic stop.
The incident happened at 1:52 p.m. at the CVS pharmacy at the corner of John Ross and Ringgold Roads. ERPD Chief Stan Allen said that Corporal Terry Prescott had stopped a red Dodge Challenger with Texas tags.
It was later learned the initial reason Cpl. Prescott initiated the traffic stop was that the driver was violating the state’s “hands free law,” which prohibits a driver from holding a cellphone while operating a vehicle.
The suspect, a white male, got out of the vehicle and fired multiple times at the officer who was still inside his police cruiser. Corporal Prescott was hit at least one time while still at the wheel and was able to radio his location to his fellow officers while the suspect got back in his vehicle and fled the scene.
Prescott was rushed to Erlanger Hospital where he is in stable condition, Chief Allen said.
At about 3:15 p.m., East Ridge officers got word that the suspect vehicle had been recovered off Paige Road in Catoosa County, but the suspect is still at large.
Chief Allen said investigators downloaded video from the officer’s in-car camera to glean more information about the incident. That information revealed the suspect as 43-year-old Christopher J. Kitts. Kitts is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
According to one law enforcement official, Sisk has an active warrant out of Texas for a parole violation stemming from a domestic violence-related incident.
Records indicate that in 2010 Kitts was convicted of evading arrest with a vehicle. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Christopher Kitts
East Ridge News Online will update this story when more information becomes available.
