OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — A former officer with the Oak Ridge Police Department, Andre James Thompson, is facing an assault charge after kicking a handcuffed juvenile, according to a release from the District Attorney General's office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Officials said that the juvenile was a male teenage runaway and that he was taken into custody while officers contacted a foster parent to pick him up. The teenager was defiant towards officers, officials said, as he was held in the Oak Ridge Police Department's interview room.
Thompson was watching the teen and was being recorded since they were in the interview room. Officials said that the teen refused to sit down and was "verbally threatening" towards Thompson.
Eventually, Thompson entered the room from the doorway and kicked the teen. It was an attempt to force the teen to sit down, according to the release.
Thompson was placed on administrative leave by the police department before being fired, officials said. The TBI looked into the case, according to the release.
The TBI said Thompson turned himself in Tuesday and was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility on an assault charge with a $1,000 bond. His first court date has not yet been scheduled, officials said.
"Mr. Thompson’s actions were outside department policy and inconsistent with department training," Police Chief Robin Smith told WBIR in a statement. "As a result, he is no longer a member of the Oak Ridge Police Department.