Knoxville Jail Workers Won’t Be Investigated For Black Man Dying After Being Struck, Tased In Custody, DA Says

It appears that a group of employees at a Tennessee jail have evaded accountability for a Black inmate who died in the hospital after they reportedly beat, tased and used a chemical agent on him in order to get him to comply with their demands. According to WBIR 10, the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office said it will no ask state agents to investigate the Knox County Sheriff’s Office over the death of 46-year-old David Batts — who died Jan. 8 at the University of Tennessee Medical Center — not because the jail employees didn’t do what they reportedly did, but because the alleged brutality didn’t actually cause Batt’s death.

From WBIR:

Knoxville lawyer Lance Baker said Batts was hit “several times” by jailers while being booked Jan. 7 at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility.

WBIR learned jail personnel also used a chemical agent and a Taser on him at least once to get him to comply. At least one jail employee struck him in the face.

Batts scratched one of the personnel on the face and he tried to bite others, WBIR learned.

DA Charme Allen said Batts did suffer injuries at the jail, but said the preliminary autopsy report from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center showed those injuries “did not cause or contribute to his death in any way.”

She said the autopsy showed Batts died from a meningitis infection. The preliminary report said Batts also had fentanyl in his system, but investigators were waiting for the final toxicology results to determine if that contributed to his death.

Even if it’s true that what the jail personnel did to Batts, who had been booked for assault and appeared to be drunk, according to the employees, didn’t cause his death, why call for no investigation at all? Is there not still an allegation of egregious police brutality on the table here? Well, apparently not, according to Allen.

“I have concluded that the officers involved responded to Mr. Batts’ assaultive and resistive behavior with appropriate force under the circumstances,” Allen said. “The conclusion that Mr. Batts was suffering from meningitis provides an explanation for his actions, which officers and witnesses interpreted as assaultive or resistive.”

Famed civil attorney Ben Crump, who represents Batts’ family, disagrees. Crump’s office tweeted Thursday that Batts’ injuries were the result of “unchecked brutality” and called for the release of all video recorded during his detention at the jail.

“The death of David Batts is an example of unchecked brutality within the justice system,” Crump said in a statement. “His family deserves answers, accountability, and justice for this horrific loss. We demand the immediate release of all footage related to David’s death to ensure transparency and hold those involved responsible for this tragedy.”

The Knoxville Police Department reported that Batts was originally involved in an incident involving Knoxville Area Transit on Jan. 7, during which KAT personnel reported that had taken a KAT bus and ran it into another vehicle in the bus parking lot. For whatever reason, KAT declined to press charges for what would have been a serious offense. After the alleged incident, Batts was taken to the ER at UTMC for treatment, where he appeared to be suffering a “substance or behavioral health episode,” according to KPD. Batts was accused of groping a nurse at the ER and was arrested and taken to jail, where he was combative and apparently inebriated, according to police.

In the eyes of law enforcement, a medical examiner’s word that a civilian who might have been a victim of police brutality died from something else is enough to close the case and move on. For Black people, it just feels like an excuse not to bother with a police brutality investigation, leaving more questions than answers.

This is America.

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