Video: Tenn. Officers Disciplined for Rough Arrest
Three Knoxville (Tenn.) Police Department officers resigned and four others face disciplinary measures stemming from the rough arrest of a mentally ill homeless man in February.
Three Knoxville (Tenn.) Police Department officers resigned and four others face disciplinary measures stemming from the rough arrest of a mentally ill homeless man in February.
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch played exerpts of the audio and dash-cam video from four responding units at a press conference Monday, saying the officers mishandled the arrest and used inappropriate language.
"Quite frankly, I cannot even comprehend why some of those comments were made," Chief Rausch said, reports the News Sentinel. "We train them to do extraordinary things under very extraordinary circumstances. They're not perfect, and this is one of those instances where we saw that. Unfortunately, their training did not kick in."
Meanwhile, former officers Jeremy Jinnett, Ty Compton, and Chris Whitfield appeared in Knox County Criminal Court Monday to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault and felony oppression in connection with the Feb. 9 incident.
The rough arrest of Michael Allen Mallicoat began when Officers Haley Starr and Cynthia LeeAnn DeMarcus responded to the intersection of Grainger and Luttrell avenues. They encountered Mallicoat, who was intoxicated, yelling, waiving his arms. The attempted to handcuff Mallicoat, who resisted, and called for backup.
Jinnett, Compton, Whitfield, and other officers responded.
The three former officers slammed Mallicoat against a car hood several times. An officer kicked him and an officer stood on him. A fourth officer hogtied Mallicoat, and a fifth officer applied a knee to him, reports the News Sentinel.
Two other officers—Richard Derrick White and Nicholas Ferro—were also found at fault in an internal affairs review that found officers Starr and DeMarcus "willfully blind and deceitful" to the use of force.
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