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Memphis Cop Shot Dead During Drug Deal

A manhunt is under way in Tennessee for a man who shot dead a Memphis police officer during a drug deal.

Officer Sean Bolton, 33, was shot multiple times after going to investigate an illegally parked car on Saturday night.

Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said 29-year-old Tremaine Wilbourn faces a first-degree murder charge over the shooting.

He said Wilbourn was a passenger in a 2002 Mercedes Benz in southeast Memphis on Saturday night.

Officer Bolton spotted the car and shone his squad car's spotlight on the vehicle. He then got out and approached the car.

Mr Armstrong said Wilbourn then got out, and the two got into a physical struggle before Officer Bolton was shot several times.

The former Marine, who served a tour of duty in Iraq, died in hospital.

The gunman, and another man who was in the driver's seat of the Mercedes, fled on foot.

Officers found a small bag of marijuana and digital scales in the car and officer Bolton is believed to have interrupted a drug deal.

A handgun was also recovered from a field near the shooting, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper.

The driver of the car later handed himself in to authorities and has been released without charge, police said.

According to a police statement, Wilbourn was on supervised release from prison where he had been serving a 10-year sentence for a bank robbery.

A $10,000 reward has been posted by the US Marshals Service for information leading to his arrest.