Luis Philipe Soto, a 29-year-old Hispanic man, was shot and killed on the evening of April 10, 2016, at a Shell gas station on Getwell Road in Memphis during a child custody exchange. Soto had been meeting his ex-wife to return their four-year-old daughter; her fiancé, identified as 36-year-old off-duty Memphis police officer Marshall Smith, was present. Family members said the exchange took place away from the family home and became a violent altercation during which Officer Smith drew his weapon and fired, striking Soto. Emergency services responded but Soto died at the scene.

Investigators from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recovered a weapon near Soto’s body; reports did not make clear whether that weapon belonged to Soto or whether it had been fired. In February 2017 the District Attorney announced no criminal charges would be filed, finding that Soto had drawn a gun without warning and that Officer Smith’s use of deadly force was justified. Soto’s parents later filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Memphis, Police Director Michael Rawlings, and Officer Marshall Smith; that case was dismissed.

Did anyone witness the custody exchange at the Shell station or have information about what happened there?