‘Gun her down like a dog’: Fiancé of woman killed by deputies speaks after seeing footage
FAYETTE COUNTY, Tenn. — A Fayette County man is speaking after learning Shelby County deputies will not be charged in the shooting death of his fiancée.
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Dashcam video released Tuesday showed Shelby County deputies attempting to pull over a white SUV. The driver, 43-year-old Melissa Horton, seemed to comply but appeared to try to take off again and go around another deputy before she was boxed in.
The deputies approached the vehicle with guns drawn. Horton died at the scene.
Horton’s fiancé, Preston Morris, saw the video for the first time Tuesday after District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced the deputies would not face charges in the March shooting.
“To shoot her 15-16 times, a mother of three beautiful kids, 43-year-old woman, and just gun her down like she’s a freaking convict that just robbed a bank, like my goodness,” Morris said.
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Morris called police that day from his home in Fayette County after he said Horton pointed a gun at him. He said she was a beautiful person and fantastic mother, but she had a drinking problem and became upset with him that day when he told her she needed help.
He says he never thought it would lead to this.
“They didn’t have to go in there gung-ho and gun her down like a dog. That’s the only thing that bothers me,” Morris said.
Man wants answers after fiancée killed in deputy-involved shooting
According to Mulroy, Horton later pulled that same gun on Shelby County deputies.
“The video shows that, unfortunately, she lifted a shotgun and pointed it towards one of the deputies, so she was armed, and that was one of the main reasons why we decided that criminal charges against the officers or the deputies were not warranted,” Mulroy said.
Morris said he doesn’t believe Horton intended to shoot at the deputies.
“No, I think that. When she’s been drinking, she doesn’t follow commands at all, trust me,” he said.
Morris said he thinks the deputies involved acted in an overly aggressive manner and while they won’t face legal trouble, Morris thinks justice will still be served.
“I think that they’ll have to live with that for the rest of their lives and I think that’s going to be punishment enough because I know they can’t sleep at night, those two that shot her,” he said.
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