KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department announced Wednesday it has cleared four officers of any internal use of force policy violations more than a year after one shot and killed a 17-year-old student during a confrontation at Austin-East Magnet High School.
KPD Chief Paul Noel said all of the officers acted within department policy for use of force in the shooting, saying KPD only reprimanded one officer for not turning on their body camera that day. Noel said the officers handled the situation "the best way they could."
Mayor Indya Kincannon and Noel said it was a "tragic day" for all involved.
"We know that this incident damaged relationships between our department and the community," Noel said. "Rest assured, I am committed and the Knoxville Police Department is committed to put the work in to repair those relationships."
During the 11-second struggle inside the school bathroom on April 12, 2021, officers said they feared for their lives when they realized Anthony Thompson Jr. had a gun concealed inside the pocket of his hoodie. After Thompson's gun fired, officer Jonathon Clabough shot and killed Thompson and wounded a fellow officer. Thompson died on the bathroom floor.
Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen declined to prosecute the four officers. She made the announcement a little more than a week after the incident, saying the shooting was justified and Clabough acted in his own self-defense and in the defense of the other officers.
Noel announced Wednesday the department will establish a new use of force review board to conduct in-depth reviews of cases involving "serious use of force," saying it will be up and running "very soon." The board will look at the circumstances of any incidents to determine if the department needs more training or policy changes.
KPD said it has added an additional investigator to its Internal Affairs Unit, saying the unit has also been placed under the supervision of Assistant Chief Mark Fortner.
"It took a significant amount of time for our internal review to be completed. Some of that was outside our control, however, there are things we can do to speed up the pace of these investigations without compromising the quality of these investigations," Noel said.
State Representative Sam McKenzie (D - Knoxville) released a statement on the investigation, saying he believed KPD could have de-escalated their response when entering the bathroom. His statement is below.
“I hesitate to rush to judgement in affairs that are not under my direct control and I don’t have all the of the information as to whether the shooting was justified or not. However, I strongly believe measures could have taken place that would have allowed KPD to de-escalate their response when entering the bathroom. I sincerely hope KPD, the city of Knoxville, and the district attorney do not let the investigation end here. I think we can all agree that mistakes were made on all sides that led to this unfortunate event. I, along with the rest of the community, am waiting to hear further information regarding last year’s shooting.”
Knox County Schools also found that none of its staff violated any laws or Knox County Board Policies. The Knox County Law Department led the investigation and found that no disciplinary action should be taken against any KCS employees. They said they offer training and professional development for staff on policies. A portion of their statement is below.
We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Thompson family. Under the leadership of Chief of Security Periard, the Knox County Schools security team will continue to assess the best practices for keeping students safe. Since assuming the role in August 2021, he has already put multiple protocols in place across the district, although for security reasons, we can’t disclose specific details. A few weeks ago, Dr. Rysewyk declared student safety a top priority of Knox County Schools. At that time, he outlined his initial plans to increase safety measures. KCS will continue to implement additional practices as the need arises.
The Shooting
KPD officers initially responded to the high school after Thompson's girlfriend's mother filed a domestic violence complaint against him. She and her daughter said Thompson physically injured her earlier in the day at school, and it wasn't the first time.
Upon arrival, they located Thompson in a school bathroom. He sat in a bathroom stall with the door open, on his phone. They ordered him to get up, and he put his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie as he stood.
One officer took his left hand, but SRO Adam Willson struggled to get Thompson to remove his right hand from his hoodie.
As Clabough approached, he said he could see the barrel of a gun pointing at him from inside the hoodie pocket.
The gun fired, but what isn't clear, and may never be, is whether Thompson intentionally pulled the trigger or if the gun fired accidentally during his struggle with one of the officers.
The bullet fired from Thompson's gun passed between Officer Brian Baldwin and the bathroom stall door and hit a trash can. Baldwin said he felt the concussion of the blast and fell back, thinking he had been shot.
Clabough said he then saw the gun, still inside the hoodie, pointed towards Lt. Stan Cash and fired his weapon at Thompson.
The officers don't know it because they didn't see it, but Allen said at some point after this, Thompson lost the gun and it fell into the bathroom stall.
Thompson and Willson went to the ground, still struggling. Clabough said the way Thompson moved his body, he thought he was pointing a gun at Willson and he fired again. That shot hit Willson in the leg.
Meanwhile, another student who had been in the bathroom the whole time and who was a friend of Thompson's -- Gralyn Strong -- cried out and urged the police to help Thompson. Thompson, however, couldn't be saved, DA Charme Allen said.
On body camera video, officers could be seen checking on each other and washing their hands once Thompson was in handcuffs, but before they flip him over and before medical aid was provided.
In a statement, a Knoxville Police spokesperson said "the involved officers summoned medical aid immediately once the situation was deemed safe." A call for an ambulance can be heard on the body camera video about 30 seconds after the shooting.
It took officers nearly two minutes before they roll Thompson over. By then, a school nurse had arrived to help stop his bleeding.
The Lawsuit
Thompson's mother and Strong are still trying to sue the city, the police department and the four officers who responded the day he died.
The lawsuit claims the officers failed to follow proper training and procedures — and failed to provide the teenager with appropriate medical care after shooting him. The lawsuit also alleges the department failed to properly train officers on de-escalation tactics.
"No one checked a pulse of offered basic CPR," the lawsuit said. "Officers did nothing except search and restrain Anthony, offer Officer Willson a tourniquet, while Officer Cash stepped over Anthony's prone body to wash his hands of Anthony's blood."
"Instead of attempting to provide any medical treatment, the officers focused on restraining Anthony, even though he was clearly unconscious and handcuffed on the floor," the lawsuit claimed.
It said if the officers or school district had properly followed a 2019 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Knox County Schools and KPD, it "likely would have saved Anthony's life."
The MOA said, in part, that principals should engage law enforcement officials when the situation warrants, though the lawsuit acknowledges the officers who responded to Austin-East believed school administrators were aware of their presence.
The lawsuit also asks the court to mandate Knoxville and Knox County adopt a series of policies to be known as "Anthony's Laws." These include:
- Prohibiting law enforcement from making any arrest at school, unless it is necessary to protect the immediate safety of those at school.
- Requiring all KPD officers to undergo 80 hours of training on de-escalation, crisis intervention and the Memorandum of Agreement with the school district.
- Warning a child they will be subject to physical force if they don't comply, before using physical force.
- Refraining from interviewing the next of kin of a deceased child for 24 hours after their death.
A city of Knoxville spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of the mayor that said: "The City of Knoxville does not comment on pending litigation. However, I can say that April 12, 2021 was a tragic day for the Thompson family, our officers, the school system, and our entire city. Anthony Thompson died before reaching his full potential and my thoughts remain with his family today.”
Spokespeople for Knox County Schools and Knoxville Police declined to comment citing the pending litigation.
The lawsuit alleges Thompson carried the gun because he feared threats of physical violence from his girlfriend's family and did not feel safe at school in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of four classmates in the prior weeks.
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