Bodycam video released, DA says deputies won't face charges for shooting, killing woman after chase

Two deputies involved in a deadly May 2023 shooting of a woman in Cocke County will not face charges, according to District Attorney General Pro Tem Kevin Allen.

On May 23, Cocke County deputies Rodney Hazelwood and Maxwell Laughter were trying to locate 36-year-old Whitney Leanne Fox for outstanding felony warrants, including drug charges, violating probation a second time, and failure to appear.

According to the DA's report, Fox's case file showed she had eluded capture for eight months. She also had her driving privileges suspended and the vehicle she was driving was not registered to her. Allen said the tag numbers also did not match the vehicle.

According to the DA, Laughter knew about Fox and spotted her driving around 4:45 p.m. Both he and Hazelwood began following her to a gas station, where she refused to pull over and the chase began.

The body camera video begins as Hazelwood is in pursuit down Highway 340 and Bruner Grove Road going close to 70 mph, which led the deputies through back roads with blind curves and narrow passages along Marshall Hallow Road and Fox Hallow Road. The chase eventually went into an open field off Fox Hollow Road before Fox's vehicle collided Hazelwood's car and came to a stop, according to the DA.

"She just slammed into my car," Hazelwood said over the radio before getting out of his vehicle.

Hazelwood then ran over to Fox's stopped vehicle with his gun drawn, yelling at her to get out. Fox's vehicle began slowly backing up and bumping into one of the cruisers. She then came to a stop as Hazelwood and Laughter continued yelling at her to get out of the vehicle with guns drawn.

Hazelwood then circled around the front of the stopped vehicle to the driver's side door. He could be seen trying to open the door when Fox began briefly backing up again.

"Stop! Stop! I will shoot you! Get out of the goddamn car! Now! Open the door!" Hazelwood yelled.

Hazelwood then hit the window of the vehicle a couple of times with an ammunition magazine to try and break it open before Fox abruptly reversed -- putting him in the direct path of her SUV. Hazelwood began moving to his left, and the DA said Laughter began shooting as she backed up. The vehicle then began driving forward and Hazelwood began shooting.

"This movement put Hazelwood at risk of being struck, but he was able to escape the vehicle’s path of movement. Deputy Laughter began firing from his passenger side position at some point during this backward sweeping act and continued firing as the subject placed the vehicle in forward drive and moved the vehicle forward," the DA's report said. "It was reasonable to assume that any thought that the vehicle was disabled, or that the subject had surrendered, were foregone. Both deputies were placed in the position of being on foot in an open field with a driver who had no intention of surrendering and who was in command of a fully operational vehicle, which could reasonably be considered a deadly weapon."

Allen's report said Fox was hit 13 times by gunfire in the driver's seat. The deputies said several of those shots were to her head, saying they knew "no aid would help" after the vehicle stopped.

"Although difficult to discern, the audio track of the body-worn video appears to capture the report of a firearm discharging 22 times, which is consistent with the shell casings recovered at the scene," the report said.

"The deputies acted in self-defense because they had a reasonable belief that Fox posted a threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury," Allen said.

The first portion of Hazelwood's body camera video ended shortly after the gunfire stopped. It resumes later after other officers arrived to process the scene. Hazelwood is heard recounting what happened.

"I tried to get her to open up... to stop the car and open the door. She was just sitting there and kept throwing her hands up and then finally she backed on up and started to come straight at me..." he said.

Hazelwood began dry heaving for several minutes after someone wearing plain clothes nodded at him and said, "adrenaline." He took a few sips of a soda as other officers came to check on him.

"I don't even know if I hit her... I shot, but..." he said after a sergeant cut him off to say, "That don't matter. We'll work that out."

"My God, man... Should have just tried to block her in at the store, but..." Hazelwood said, as he mentioned thinking about the "what-ifs."

The sergeant began telling him "not to start that," saying it wasn't his fault.

"You can only control what you can control. OK. She could have stopped, too," the sergeant said.

Hazelwood and other officers then began recounting what happened to each other during the response.

“I thought she was about to run me over… I thought she was going to run me over,” Hazelwood said.

Following the completion of an autopsy, the medical examiner's office found that Fox's blood contained high levels of methamphetamine. This was unknown to the deputies at the time of the shooting, according to the DA.

"Her blood chemistry shows that she was at the extreme levels of methamphetamine intoxication, thereby explaining her highly erratic behavior, which unfortunately and ultimately led to her death," the report said.

"Specifically, the amount of meth found in her blood was double the amount normally associated with irrational and violent behavior in meth abusers," Allen said.

Allen concluded use of force in the case was justified, saying the thoroughness of the investigation made his review "straightforward."