Alejandro Reyes Ayala, 43, who was shot after he charged officers with a large knife following the stabbing of his estranged wife, was declared deceased at Skyline Medical Center this afternoon.
Officers Jackson Smythe, 25, and Kevin Coleman, 30, responded to a domestic disturbance call at 500 Cheyenne Boulevard at 3 p.m. Ayala’s wife was stabbed in a trailer at Lot 163. She had recently moved out of the nearby home she shared with her husband. Officers Smythe and Coleman went to Ayala’s residence at Lot 159, the door was ajar and they could see a large amount of blood inside. Ayala was lying on the floor.
Officers told Ayala to remain on the floor and called an ambulance since it appeared he was injured.
Ayala, ignoring repeated warnings, came out the door and charged officers with a butcher knife. Coleman and Smythe both fired their department issued pistols. Ayala fell onto the front deck, but got back up after grabbing a metal car jack. He again came at officers with the jack raised above his head as if to strike the officers. Officer Coleman fired again. Ayala was hit and transported to Skyline Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Ayala’s sister witnessed the shooting and supported the Officers’ account that her brother ignored repeated warnings and approached the officers with an object in his hand.
Ayala’s estranged wife, also in her early 40s, was transported to Skyline Medical Center with stab wounds to her hands and right leg. She is expected to recover.
Police department policy provides that officers may use deadly force when they have a reasonable belief that the action is immediately necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death. The preliminary investigation shows that Smythe and Coleman fired on Ayala in self-defense. Both officers are on routine administrative assignment while the investigation progresses.
Alejandro Ayala
Kevin Coleman and Jackson Smythe
###
Disclaimer: These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organization or individual. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
Send questions or comments about this site to webmaster@police.nashville.org
