What started as a minor fender bender on a Tennessee highway ended with a young man being run off the road, shot at multiple times, and airlifted to the hospital. The man behind the wheel of the attacking vehicle was not some road-raging stranger. He was a uniformed state trooper, driving his personal car, carrying his service weapon, and very much off the clock.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents began looking into the off-duty actions of Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Timothy Johnson on June 2nd, at the request of 12th Judicial District Attorney General Courtney Lynch.
What they found was troubling enough to put Johnson in handcuffs.
According to the TBI, Johnson was involved in a crash near Tracy City in which the driver of the other vehicle left the scene. Investigators said Johnson then pursued the driver, made multiple attempts to ram the vehicle, and discharged his duty firearm, striking the other vehicle.
The victim, 20-year-old Dylan LeVan of Grundy County, survived.
LeVan said he was shot at at least three times and described Johnson as being in plain clothes and in an off-duty, personally owned car, not a patrol vehicle. The pursuit ended when LeVan’s car was forced into a ditch and rolled over. He was not struck by a bullet, but he did break his shoulder and was life-flighted to the hospital.
On June 9th, TBI agents obtained warrants charging Johnson with three counts of aggravated assault. He was booked into the Grundy County Jail and released on a $30,000 bond.
The case is now in the hands of the 12th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol has moved to sideline their man in the meantime.
How a Fender Bender Turned Into a Pursuit With Gunfire
LeVan told local media the night began simply enough: he was heading to visit his mother when a driver pulled out in front of him and began tapping his brakes erratically.
LeVan came around a corner where Johnson had come to a complete stop, didn’t see it in time, and made light contact with the vehicle. Johnson reportedly got out yelling and threatening to call police, then pulled back onto the road and bumped LeVan’s car. A frightened LeVan took off.
That decision to flee appears to have triggered something far worse.
The TBI says the incident concluded in the 1400 block of US-41 after the victim lost control of his vehicle and crashed.
By that point, Johnson had allegedly executed multiple ramming maneuvers and fired his weapon at LeVan’s car. To be clear: this was not a traffic enforcement stop. Johnson had no legal authority to pursue anyone that evening.
The Service Weapon That Wasn’t Supposed to Be There
LeVan’s father, Rick Dickson, did not mince words when speaking to reporters. His son, he said, was running away, not attacking. “You don’t bring your service pistol out to attack a kid over any type of fender bender,” Dickson said. “My son was fleeing from him. So if he tries to say he was scared, why was he chasing my son?”
It’s a reasonable question.
According to THP, “decommissioned” means Johnson’s badge, credentials, and weapons have all been removed from his person pending the outcome of the investigation.
The fact that a trooper was carrying his duty firearm while driving his personal vehicle off-duty is not automatically prohibited, but how it was used that evening is precisely what the criminal charges address.
What “Decommissioned” Actually Means for Johnson
THP spokesperson Lt. Bill Miller confirmed the department was aware of Johnson’s arrest and that Johnson had been decommissioned once they learned of the incident.
The language is clinical, but the practical effect is that a 57-year-old trooper with years on the force is currently off the road, stripped of his credentials, and awaiting criminal proceedings on three aggravated assault counts.
Court records show Johnson has prior history in the area: in July 2022, while on duty, he was injured during a traffic stop outside Tracy City involving an ATV rider, leading to a separate legal matter still pending in court.
Whether that background is relevant to the current charges is a question for the courts, but it adds texture to a case that is already anything but straightforward.
What Comes Next for the Case
The investigation remains active under the direction of the 12th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office, and Johnson is awaiting his first court hearing. For LeVan and his father, the legal process is moving, but slowly. Dickson told reporters he was losing sleep and running on hope that the system would deliver something resembling accountability.
For anyone watching from the outside, the mechanics of this incident will feel unsettlingly familiar: a road altercation, a decision to flee, and a pursuit that escalated well beyond anything the initial collision warranted. The difference here is that the person doing the pursuing held a badge and a gun issued by the state of Tennessee. That distinction is exactly why the TBI got involved, and why this case is unlikely to fade quietly.