MARYVILLE, Tennessee -- A nine-year veteran of the Maryville Police Department has been identified as the officer killed Thursday after he was shot while answering a domestic violence call.
Kenny Moats, 32, was pronounced dead at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, according to a Maryille Police Department news release Friday.
Moats, who was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, was struck by a single bullet to his neck when the suspect opened fire shortly after the officer arrived at the scene.
The father of three joined the police department in February 2007 and had served as a drug enforcement agent with the fifth Judicial District Drug Task Force since May.
Moats was a "stellar" officer, and was named as a Readers' Choice Police Officer by the Maryville Daily Times newspaper in 2011, according to Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp.
Since January, Moats also had served as president of the Fraternal Order of Police — Bud Allison Memorial Lodge #9.
"We are humbled by the outpouring of love and support from the community and beyond," Crisp said in a statement. "We will forever be grateful for the care our community has shown the family of Officer Moats and the law enforcement community.
"We know this tragedy will bring our community closer together and that will be a lasting legacy of Officer Moats. We just ask that our community continue to pray for the family of Officer Moats and for the men and women in uniform as we go through this trying time."
The shooter, identified as Brian Keith Stalans, 44, was taken into custody and is being held for investigation pending charges that will likely be placed on him Friday, according to the Blount County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. near the corner of Kerrway Lane and Alcoa Trail, Crisp said.
Sheriff's deputies had responded to an earlier domestic disturbance at the home about 10:45 a.m. Thursday involving Stalans and his father.
"At the time, deputies did not have probable cause to arrest Brian Stalans," according to a BCSO news release.
The Maryville officer and a Blount County Sheriff's Office deputy, both members of the 5th Judicial District Drug Task Force, responded to the second call, which "involved a gun," Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said.
Another unit had been dispatched, but the narcotics team was in the area and responded to the call, authorities said.
The law enforcement officers parked their car at a residence about 70 yards behind the house from which the call originated, the news release states.
Once on the scene, investigators took the victim, who is Stalans' father, to a safe area. The officers then positioned themselves behind their vehicle waiting on help to arrive while watching the house when Stalans opened fire on them from his father's garage, according to the release.
The other investigator, a Blount County deputy, returned fire on Stalans. A second Blount County deputy arrived on the scene during this time and returned fire on Stalans.
The deputies took Stalans into custody and he was transported to the Blount County Detention Facility.
The two Blount County deputies, whose names have not been released, are currently on administrative leave with pay.
Zack Wooldridge, who lives nearby, said he heard the gun battle break out.
"It was definitely more than one shot — multiple gunshots," he said.
Knoxville police escorted the ambulance carrying the officer on the drive to the hospital along Alcoa Highway. Deputies remained at the shooting scene into the night, with much of the road closed, while deputies from neighboring Loudon and Anderson counties helped out with patrols.
His voice wavering during the news conference, Crisp said the officer had been with the Maryville Police Department for "several years."
"He had recently been assigned to the narcotics unit," Crisp said.
The last time a Maryville police officer was killed on duty was more than three decades ago on Feb. 21, 1981, when John Michael Callahan II was struck by a drunken driver while riding his patrol motorcycle on Merritt Road, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks police deaths in the line of duty.
Crisp said officers of the department will lean on one another for support in the days to come.
"We live in a great place, and we're not immune to tragic events like this," Crisp said. "We're grateful for our city, and this is a sad day for our city. We ask all people to join in our prayers."
Nationwide, 75 officers have died in the line of duty so far this year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Foundation website.
Four of those deaths had been reported in Tennessee as of earlier this week. The state is tied with California for third in the nation, according to the foundation.
Copyright 2016 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
Tribune News Service
