Tennessee sheriff's deputy is FIRED after he was caught on camera choking an unresisting college student until he passed out
- Frank Phillips, 47, was found 'unsuitable for continued employment' by Knox County Sheriff J.J. Jones
- Deputies were called to a University of Tennessee student party that spilled out onto a residential street
- Students threw beer bottles at officers and several people were arrested
- A photographer on the scene took a series of photos of a deputy choking 21-year-old Jarod Dotson into unconsciousness
- The young man did not resist arrest, says the photographer, but police disagree
- He was complying with officers when the officer began to choke him
- Two other officers were behind Dotson, handcuffing him
Fired: Frank Phillips, 47, pictured, was been
found 'unsuitable for continued employment,' according to a termination
notice posted Sunday night on the Knox County Sheriff's Office's website
A
sheriff's deputy in Knox County, Tennessee has been fired after he was
caught on camera allegedly choking a university student Saturday night.
Frank
Phillips, 47, was been found 'unsuitable for continued employment,'
according to a termination notice posted Sunday night on the Knox County
Sheriff's Office's website.
'In
my 34 years of law enforcement experience, excessive force has never
been tolerated. After an investigation by the Office of Professional
Standards, I believe excessive force was used in this incident,' Sheriff
Jimmy 'J.J.' Jones said.
'Therefore, Officer Phillips' employment with the Knox County Sheriff's Office is terminated immediately.'
Jones
added that the investigation will now be turned over to the Knox County
Attorney General's Office to determine any further action.
John
Messner, a freelance photographer in Knoxville, captured Phillips with
both hands around the neck of University of Tennessee student Jarod
Dotson in Fort Sanders after a party. The 21-year-old can be seen
falling to his knees after the man's grip apparently renders him
unconscious.
Phillips has been with the Sheriff's Office since 1992. Dotson, of Powell, is an architecture major at the college.
Authorities
say Dotson was publicly intoxicated and drinking from a cup 'that had
an odor of an alcoholic beverage' at 23rd Street and Laurel Avenue, when
he was arrested.
He
was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest. He was
released Sunday morning on a $500 bond, the sheriff's office said.
Use of force: The officer begins to choke the
student, Jarod Dotson, center, or activate some kind of pressure point
to render him unconscious
Three to one: The young man did not resist arrest, according to the photographer who shot the images
College party: As he's handcuffed, the student's knees begin to buckle as he loses consciousness
The report said Dotson ignored 'repeated
instructions' to go inside and apparently 'began to physically resist
officers' instructions to place his hands behind his back, and at one
point grabbed on to an officer's leg.'
University
of Tennessee Police officers called for backup after the party 'became
unruly' and some of the approximately 800 partygoers began throwing beer
bottles, Knoxville Police Department Sgt. Mike McCarter told
knoxnews.com.
UT
student Nicolas Oramas told wate.com of the party: 'When the cops
showed up we saw people throwing bottles at their cars. They had police
dogs out there.'
His officers responded at 11:56 p.m. to the 'disturbance,' which was spilling into the street.
McCarter
said estimated 60 officers from three agencies were present at the
party, where at least 10 people were arrested and charged with public
intoxication and/or disorderly conduct.
Distressing: The officer's hands are still on the student's neck even as he passes out
Incapacitated: The young man sinks to the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back
Messner
captured the frightening moment in a sequence of photographs that show
the young man complying with Knox County deputies as they lead him to a
police van at the University of Tennessee, before an officer uses two
hands to choke the student until he is unconscious.
Dotson was arrested, along with a number of friends, during a wild college party celebrating after a week of finals. Police were called to clear the area at the intersection of 21st and Laurel Streets in Fort Sanders, an area with a high concentration of college students.
According
to photographer John Messner, some college students began to throw beer
bottles at police, who called for backup from the Knox County Sheriff's
office.
Dotson was arrested and handcuffed, then walked a block to a waiting police van at the University of Tennessee.
Wild party: College students celebrating the end
of finals spilled out onto the street Saturday night and police were
called to clear the area
Unresisting: Dotson, seen here before the
alleged assault, does not appear to resist as police remove one set of
handcuffs to replace them with another
Threatening: An officer much larger than the
student, who still has his hands behind his back, approaches and lays
his hands on the young man's neck
He went willingly and did not resist arrest, said Messner.
When
they got to the police van, the arresting deputy's handcuffs were
removed from the young man's wrists and replaced with cuffs from the
vehicle.
During the brief moment his wrists were uncuffed, Dotson let his arms fall by his sides.
As
two officers twist his arms behind his back, another deputy walks in
front of the young man and wraps his hands around his neck.
The
disturbing sequence of shots show the 21-year-old appear to lose
consciousness, his knees buckling as he sinks to the ground, while the
deputy continues to choke him or activate a pressure point that renders
him unconscious.
The officers behind Dotson fiddle with his handcuffs even as he's being choked.
Arrested: Jarod Dotson, pictured, was arrested
and handcuffed, then walked a block to a waiting police van at the
University of Tennessee
Student: Dotson, pictured left and right, is a student at the University of Tennessee
When
the young man was unconscious, the police picked him up and the officer
who choked him slapped him around the head a few times before walking
off, reports Messner.
All three officers are Knox County deputies assisting the Knoxville Police Department.
In
2011, Knoxville County officers stopped a carload of teenagers and
forced them to run in circles around a bat he kept in the trunk of the
car.
Sherriff Jimmy 'JJ' Jones demoted the five officers involved in the incident.
Jones'
action in disciplining the officers was well-received by the community.
He's now up for re-election, with early voting already taking place.
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