UPDATE Thursday, March 1, 2018
A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing after allegations that he inappropriately touched a woman during a traffic stop in August 2017.
The Office of the 8th Judicial District Attorney General announced Thursday that it has reviewed the actions of Trooper Isaiah Lloyd toward a Cumberland County woman that occurred on Aug. 16, 2017.
"Our review of this matter revealed that Trooper Lloyd’s actions were inconsistent with his training and Tennessee Department of Safety General Orders. However, we do not believe that Trooper Lloyd’s actions during his encounters with [the woman] in Campbell County on Aug. 16, 2017 form the basis for any criminal charge against him," the release from the District Attorney General's Office said.
The release stated the review of the matter has been forwarded to Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security David Purkey, along with a request that the findings of the review be reviewed with Trooper Lloyd to prevent similar incidents in the future.
It also said the pending seat belt violation against the woman who made the allegations has been dismissed by the District Attorney General’s Office.
UPDATE Friday, Feb. 2, 2018
The lawyer for a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper accused of sexual harassment says video evidence will prove the trooper is innocent of the allegations made by a Campbell County woman that put the trooper on administrative leave.
The woman filed a lawsuit claiming trooper Isaiah Lloyd groped her during a traffic stop in August 2017.
During a news conference Friday, attorney James A.H. Bell called Lloyd a decorated soldier who has been with highway patrol for a long period of time, and has made significant arrests including ones that got rid of illegal immigrants and drugs in the community.
He said once the video of the incident is released, people will understand.
"It's not true, if anything, what you'll conclude is that video shows nothing more than what he was trained to do and is probably a good model for training purposes for future troopers," Bell said.
Bell said he followed protocol and there was "no touching of the buttocks and pubic area if you know anything about training and searching, it is in accordance of the law."
During the conversation between Lloyd and the woman making the claims, the video of the traffic stop allegedly shows her admitting to using Ambien, a sedative to treat insomnia, after he noticed her eyes were pinpointed, according to Bell while he referenced the video of the first traffic stop.
He said the passenger reported in the car was her mother. He said the video shows the mother hand her a phone in reference to a registration she didn't have on her.
Bell said he anticipates Lloyd will return to duty in the near future and there will be no criminal prosecution on behalf of the state of Tennessee against him.
A report was expected to be put together over this coming weekend and is expected to be sent to the District Attorney General, Bell said.
ORIGINAL STORY Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018
A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper has been accused of groping a Campbell County woman during a traffic stop, according to a complaint filed in the circuit court for Campbell County.
State Trooper Isaiah Lloyd, 25, has been placed on non-law enforcement administrative duties at the Knoxville THP Headquarters pending a departmental internal review, according to Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security Director of Communications Megan Buell.
All THP issued equipment has been taken from Lloyd, Buell said.
The lawsuit accuses Lloyd of pulling a woman over on Aug. 16, 2017 for not having her seat belt on and then touching her inappropriately. She was pulled over on I-75 south in Campbell County.
Lloyd allegedly told the woman to get out of her car, place her hands on the hood of his cruiser, and bend and arch her hips. The suit accuses him of using his hands to feel around her shorts and lift her shirt so he could then put his hands in her shorts.
The lawsuit claims he "ran his hands around Plaintiff's waistline with his fingers inside her panties touching her buttocks and her public (sic) area." It claims she was under the total control and dominion of Lloyd because of his authority as a law enforcement officer.
She claimed she was afraid of what he would do if she protested his actions and said she was humiliated. The suit states he gave her a ticket for driving without a seat belt.
In the lawsuit, it states there was a passenger in the woman's car at the time and she told them what he had allegedly done to her.
She went to work and about three hours later, she was stopped by Lloyd again while she was on her way home, the suit claims.
According to the lawsuit, Trooper Lloyd claimed he was stopping her for "tinted windows". The windows were in the same condition as they were during the first stop, the suit said.
The woman had her two children, ages 8 and 3, with her at the time of the second stop. Lloyd allegedly told the woman that they "have to stop meeting like this".
She told Trooper Lloyd that she was going to her child's father's house nearby to drop them off and was going directly home after. She was released again, this time without a citation, the suit claims.
The lawsuit alleges nine claims including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, false arrest and false imprisonment for both stops, and declaratory judgment for both stops.
The suit seeks $100,000 for suffering severe mental and emotional distress, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of enjoyment of her minor child, fear and distrust of law enforcement, and incurred attorney fees.