Memphis police took one person into custody Sunday in connection
with the shooting death of a police officer the night before, CNN affiliates WMC and WREGreported.
The Memphis
Police Department has not confirmed any arrests or other developments in the
case, and did not immediately return CNN's calls for comment.
Officer Sean
Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times during a traffic stop Saturday night by a
person who was in the car he pulled over, police said.
Bolton's killer
fled, sparking an overnight manhunt, according to Memphis police spokeswoman
Karen Rudolph.
A civilian used
the officer's radio to notify police about the shooting, she said.
Bolton, who joined the force in October 2010, was taken to
hospital in critical condition. He later died.
This is the
third time a Memphis police officer has been killed in the past four years, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said.
"It doesn't
get any easier. This is a very difficult time, not only for me as director, but
for all the officers you see standing behind me," he told reporters early
Sunday morning.
"And (it's)
a difficult time for our city as well. So I ask that you give us the respect
that we need ... and the space that we need to grieve, and the time that we
need to prepare to lay our brother to rest."
The shooting follows a series of incidents across the country in
which police have been accused of using excessive force during traffic stops.
Former
University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing faces charges of murder and
voluntary manslaughter for shooting Samuel DuBose in the headduring
a traffic stop July 19. DuBose's death reignited a familiar chant across the
country: "Black lives matter."
It's unclear
what led to Bolton's shooting in Memphis, but the police chief said it
highlights the risks police officers face every day.
"We say so often ... do black lives matter? And at the end
of the day, we have to ask ourselves, do all lives matter -- regardless of
race, creed, color, economic status, what profession that person holds? All
lives matter," Armstrong said.
"This is
just a reminder of how dangerous this job is."
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