This body-cam footage shows Nashville cops fatally shooting a 37-year-old man after he walked along a motorway brandishing a box cutter for half an hour.

The officer-involved shooting, which took place on Interstate 65 in Nashville in the US state of Tennessee on the afternoon of 27th January, has resulted in five Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers being placed on administrative assignment while a sixth was decommissioned.

Police Chief John Drake said nine officials, including a sergeant, fired at Landon Eastep, 37, on the motorway.

A 25-year veteran of the police force, named as Officer Brian Murphy, was said to have fired the last two shots at the victim and has reportedly lost his badge pending an internal investigation into the shooting.

The five cops on routine administrative leave have been named as Justin Pinkelton, 25 years with the force; Officer Sean Williams, a 17-year veteran; Sergeant Steven Carrick, an eight-year veteran; Officer Edin Plancic, a six-year veteran; and Officer James Kidd, who joined the MNPD in February 2021.

According to the police, Eastep brandished a box cutter at a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer on the side of the motorway.

An off-duty officer from the Mount Juliet Police Department helped the traffic cop and tried to talk to Eastep, who was holding the blade in his left hand with his right in his pocket, for around 30 minutes.

When Eastep suddenly pulled an object from his pocket and adopted “a stance” like holding a gun, according to Drake, the cops circling him on the motorway opened fire.

The police chief said the object was later found to be a metal cylinder and not a firearm.

The victim’s friends said in Facebook tribute posts that he had battled mental health issues in the past.

Drake added: “This department regularly reviews critical incidents, and the work on this one has begun. I am saddened by any loss of life, and I send my condolences to the Eastep family.”

The internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting is ongoing.