CHASE ENDS IN TRAGEDY

Man dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound

By Chris Parsons

The man police say tried to pass a forged prescription at the Sav-Rite Pharmacy in Corbin Monday died at the UK Medical Center just hours after shooting himself in the forehead with a .25 caliber pistol in the midst of a police pursuit.

EMS workers work frantically to save David Byrd following a police chase Monday. He shot himself in the head before officers could apprehend him. He died hours later.

Officers say David G. Byrd, of Tennessee, presented a forged prescription to a Sav-Rite employee around 1:35 p.m. Monday afternoon, prompting them to notify police of the incident, which eventually ended in tragedy near a local high school.

Patrolman Matthew Conley was the first officer on the scene and actually spoke with Byrd before he brandished the firearm that eventually took his life. CPD Lt. Tim Helton said Conley tried to talk Byrd into handling the situation in a different manner, but was unsuccessful.

“Patrolman Conley told the man things didn’t have to go this way after he said that “police would have to stop him,” Helton said.

As Byrd attempted to leave the parking lot, Conley shot his passenger side rear tire out in an attempt to avoid a pursuit situation, but Byrd fled the scene, traveling south on US 25E. The chase eventually came to an end about 1/8 of a mile before the intersection of US 25E and KY 830, forcing officials at Lynn Camp High School to lock down the campus as a precautionary measure.

Helton said while they were in pursuit, officers had a view of Byrd as he placed the gun near his forehead before he fired the shot. Following the pursuit, officers had to break the passenger side window to gain access into Byrd’s white 90’s model Ford Thunderbird to secure the scene and so that EMS workers could have access. Once Byrd was removed from the vehicle, Helton said he performed a search, which turned up nothing of interest regarding the investigation.

“We didn’t find anything in the vehicle that was important,” Helton said.

As for the weapon Byrd used, Helton said although the gun was not registered to him, it had not been reported stolen. However, he did say no other weapons were found in the vehicle.

“We will not know anything about the gun he had for a little while,” Helton said. “There were no other weapons in the vehicle at the time of the search, though.”

Police had trouble determining Byrd’s identity at first as they found four different driver’s licenses with four different names on them on Byrd’s person. Helton said all were legitimate, which further adds to the mystery of what the Knoxville man with no suspected local ties was doing in Corbin.

“We don’t really know why he was here,” Helton said. “I suppose he was just passing through.
“He was apparently a wanderer and all of his ID’s were all legal,” he added. “He would travel from state to state, legally changing his name everywhere he went.”

Helton gave credit to Conley, who is relatively new to the department, for the way he handled the situation and said despite the tragic ending, things could have been worse for all involved.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Helton said. “An officer could have been hurt, someone at the scene could have been hurt, there are a number of things that could have happened.

“Ptl. Conley did a good job handling the situation,” Helton said. “He did the best he could do given the circumstances. In the end, I think the man just wanted to commit suicide.”

Byrd was flown to the UK Medical Center where he died around 8:30 p.m. Monday evening. Traffic was diverted during the ordeal, allowing Lifenet to land in order to transport Byrd.

In addition to Corbin officers Ptl. Conley, Cpt. Helton and Lt. Steve Lundy, the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Kentucky State Police and West Knox Volunteer Fore Department assisted at the scene.