KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A family is suing the Knoxville Police Department after they said a school resource officer body-slammed an 8th-grade student onto a table, injuring him.
The lawsuit said that on April 19, 2021, Officer David Lee grabbed the minor while they were in a hallway of Northwest Middle School, walking to the bathroom. It says Lee grabbed the child's backpack and refused to let go, threatening to arrest the minor if he did not give the backpack to the officer.
The lawsuit said Lee claimed to smell marijuana coming from the backpack. During a later search, no illegal drugs or paraphernalia were found.
It says that the minor was confused by the officer's demand to search the backpack and instead of having a teacher call the student's parents, Lee grabbed the minor's arms and restrained him.
It says Lee then swept the minor's legs and slammed him down to the ground face-first, without his arms available to brace for the impact. It also says Lee's body weight fell onto the 8th-grader, and Lee placed his knee on the minor's neck.
The lawsuit said it was difficult for the minor to breathe and they struggled on the ground for a few seconds. It says Lee dragged the minor away from the hallway and into a small room without cameras, where he was placed into a chair.
The minor screamed that his arms hurt and claimed Lee was going to break his arms, according to the lawsuit. At one point, it says the minor got up from the chair and struggled with the officer before Lee restrained him.
It said Lee had both of his arms inside the minor's arms, making it impossible for him to move. The lawsuit said that the officer then lifted the minor off his feet and slammed him into the wooden table "with the totality of [his] strength and weight, causing [the minor] to scream in agonizing pain."
The minor had a large laceration on his chin from the body slam, according to the lawsuit. They said it required several staples and caused emotional and mental trauma. The minor said he thought the officer broke his chin and said he was in pain, according to the lawsuit.
However, the officer kept the minor on the table for a few moments, according to the lawsuit. Another officer arrived to take the minor to jail, according to the lawsuit, and that officer asked if he needed an ambulance.
"I may call one anyways because of his chin," Lee said, according to the lawsuit.
After the incident, Lee searched the backpack and the minor himself. The lawsuit said no illegal substances were found. The minor was later charged with resisting arrest, but that charge was dismissed in Knox County Juvenile Court.
"This policy of inadequate training and supervision on the part of Defendants has fostered a de facto custom or practice within the City of Knoxville and KPD of tolerating incidents of excessive force that violate the federal civil liberties of arrestees like Plaintiff. Moreover, the lack of such training endangers the safety of arrestees," the lawsuit says.
It also says the officer violated the minor's Fourth Amendment rights. The plaintiffs are asking for up to $1 million in compensation and up to $1 million in punitive damages.
When 10News reached out to Knoxville Police Department, they responded that KPD does not comment on pending litigation.