The Shelby County District Attorney will not pursue charges in the fatal shooting of a man inside a Burger King by a federal agent assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force, District Attorney Steve Mulroy’s office announced Monday.
Darrin Pigram, 41, was killed during his work shift at the restaurant May 13 when Drug Enforcement Administration officers entered to serve a warrant.
Pigram’s death was the first of four fatal shootings this year by officers assigned to the Memphis Safe Task Force. All four deadly encounters were referred to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which investigates officer-involved shootings.
The district attorney concluded “the use of deadly force was legally justified and that the evidence does not support a reasonable likelihood of conviction.” The conclusion was based on a review of evidence, the TBI’s investigation in Pigram’s death and state law governing use of force by law enforcement, a news release from Mulroy’s office on Monday said.
Andre Wharton, a Memphis attorney representing Pigram’s family, said Monday that Pigram’s parents and siblings were “disappointed and befuddled” by the decision.
Pigram was shot eight times in front of coworkers, Wharton said, citing information shared with the family by the district attorney’s office.
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Since Pigram’s death, family members have reviewed portions of the restaurant surveillance video in the district attorney’s office. Wharton also reviewed the district attorney’s “declination letter,” describing the office’s decision not to pursue criminal charges.
“The report concludes that deadly force was necessary because Mr. Pigram lifted his shirt, reached for a firearm, and became aggressive,” Wharton said. “The video we viewed does not show those actions. Instead, it shows an encounter that unfolded in seconds, with Mr. Pigram backing away as the agent suddenly rushed toward him before opening fire.”
“We respectfully disagree with the decision not to pursue charges, but today’s report does not end our pursuit of the truth,” he said. “Our focus remains exactly where it has been from the beginning: transparency, accountability, and justice.”
The eight-page declination letter was also released Monday by the Shelby County District Attorney’s office. The letter from District Attorney Steve Mulroy is addressed to the U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta. The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead agency of the Memphis Safe Task Force, established in September by President Donald Trump to combat crime in Memphis. There are 2,700 personnel currently attached to the task force, according to the Marshals Service.
The letter, which misspells Pigram’s name and cites an incorrect date for his shooting death, describes the sequence of events leading up to and including Pigram’s fatal shooting:
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Officers from the Memphis Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration arrived to serve a warrant on Pigram at his workplace after first attempting to locate him at his home.
The warrant stemmed from a January altercation with neighbors over loud music, according to court records. Pigram allegedly brandished a gun at the neighbors. Court records show Pigram has one previous misdemeanor conviction in Shelby County.
A Memphis police officer first entered the restaurant, then reported back to four DEA agents. All four of the DEA agents then entered the Burger King, according to the letter. None of the DEA agents were wearing body-worn cameras, the letter noted.
Two DEA agents carried rifles in their hands as they entered the restaurant. Pigram behind the counter. They asked Pigram to step out. Pigram complied, walking to the employee-only door and opening it. According to one of the agents, Pigram then became “visually and verbally aggressive” after learning he was being served an arrest warrant.
Two agents told investigators that, as they approached an employee door to reach Pigram, he attempted to “push the agents off” and “close the door between himself and the agents.” One agent described a “pulling match” at the door between Pigram and a DEA officer.
But a footnote in the declination letter notes that “camera footage of the physical activity between Mr. Pigram and (the DEA agent) does not support these claims of aggressive action at the doorway.”
“The video showed that Mr. Pigram walked to the employee-only door, opened it with his left hand, and stood holding the door open,” the footnote said.
The cameras in the restaurant were stationery, capturing Pigram and law enforcement officers as they moved in and out of view. The restaurant cameras did not record audio of the incident, the letter noted.
As one DEA agent stood on the customer side of the front counter with his rifle in his hands, another DEA agent who had been out of view of the restaurant camera “suddenly burst back into view as he surged through the door and appeared to shove Mr. Pigram backward into the front counter area. Mr. Pigram continued to move backward as (the agent) appeared to continue to rush toward Mr. Pigram,” the footnote read.
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The report cited three DEA agents reporting Mr. Pigram made statements to the effect of “no” and “shoot me.”
One DEA agent reported that, because Mr. Pigram raised his hands “in fists,” another agent responded by slinging his rifle onto his shoulder “so he could ‘go hands on’ with Mr. Pigram.”
The agent’s action in slinging his rifle onto his shoulder prompted a fellow DEA agent to jump the front counter behind him. “Thereafter, the agents appeared to move forward in tandem,” the letter said.
The DEA agent who ultimately fired the fatal shots said Pigram began moving his shirt as he approached. The agent said he “saw Mr. Pilgrim’s gun in his waistband and realized Mr.Pigram was reaching for that weapon.”
The agent fired three shots and then “several more,” he said. He said he feared for his life.
Pigram staggered back and came to rest on the floor under the drive-through window, the letter said. Other agents said they saw a gun in Mr. Pigram’s waistband.
“Video confirmed the bulk of the officers’ account, although it did not clearly show the actual shooting itself,” a statement from the district attorney’s office said. The statement noted, based on witnesses, that it was “not unusual for (Pigram) to be armed while working at the Burger King.
Wharton, the Pigram family attorney, noted Monday that Mulroy’s letter contains “factual errors and internal inconsistencies. In several places, its own discussion of the video conflicts with the conclusions it ultimately reaches. Those inconsistencies deserve answers, not silence.”
“The family has never asked for special treatment,” Wharton said. “They have asked only for a complete, transparent, and objective evaluation of what happened on May 13. That request remains unchanged today.
