KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Former City Council candidate David Hayes was arrested Friday night while he and a group of people attended a meeting in the City County Building.
Hayes is a leading activist in Knoxville. He was a founding force of the City Council Movement and later ran for a spot on Knoxville City Council. He has given numerous impassioned speeches during protests against incidents like the police shooting of Austin-East High School student Anthony Thompson Jr.
In a report from the Knox County Sheriff's Office, deputies said Officer Ronald Chaperon was told Hayes had a warrant for his arrest Friday afternoon. The report references the warrant, which was a charge for obstructing the road the night of April 21, 2021 during community protests in front of the Knoxville Police Department headquarters after the shooting of Anthony Thompson Jr.
In the report for January 7, Chaperon said he saw Hayes walking out of the Small Assembly Room and yelled at him to put his hands behind his back, saying that he had a warrant for his arrest. The report said Hayes immediately went to the ground and yelled at police and the group accompanying him.
KCSO said deputies waited until Hayes left the meeting before arresting him.
The group was there to protest after a man died while in police custody. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into that case, saying the man became unresponsive while in the transport van. The TBI said it does not believe foul play was involved.
A group organized the demonstration on social media over the man's death.
In a video of the arrest taken by Tyler Gibens, he is seen asking police why he was being arrested. Deputies did not answer him and told him to "stop resisting" while holding him down. Hayes called the arrest "abusive," saying he was not resisting.
"When police try to arrest you for unjust reasons, you just sit down. You go limp. It's not resisting arrest, it's passive. And I pursued that tactic," he said.
In the report, deputies said they were approached by several supporters while taking Hayes into custody. In videos from attendees though, few are seen near the deputies.
Deputy Chaperon and two others started carrying Hayes down the hallway, saying he was "physically non-compliant" in the report. They say he was taken into the Court Services Office to wait for transportation.
There, deputies said they told Hayes to take a seat. They say he refused, instead sitting on the ground near a chair. Later, Chaperon said Hayes sat in a chair and spit in his face, so the deputy "redirected his face towards the corner of the wall." He also said he asked for a spit mask while holding Hayes' head to the side.
While his head was being held, deputies say Hayes kicked his feet out and nearly damaged office equipment.
When transportation arrived with a spit mask, deputies said it was put on him and Hayes was taken to an elevator. In the report, they said he carried him out because "Hayes knew he had an audience of his followers just outside the office and was still non-compliant."
KCSO said no body camera footage is available, saying court officers are not issued such cameras because "they are required to be in/out of the courtroom at a moment's notice."
Hayes later posted on social media that he was out of jail following efforts from supporters who called and urged officers to release him. The report said he is charged with aggravated assault of a public official and inciting a riot.
Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said Sunday deputies "were not there in anticipation" of Hayes' arrest, however said the deputy assigned to the post was alerted by a Knoxville Police Department lieutenant that Hayes would attend the meeting and had a warrant for arrest on file from the April 2021 protest.
"Mr. Hayes was arrested because he had an outstanding warrant. We are police officers. We enforce the law. It’s our job to arrest individuals with outstanding warrants," he said.
Tennessee Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville) said he was "deeply concerned" by the actions of the Knox County Sheriff's Office.
"To imply that the arrest had to occur during a pivotal public forum is unfathomable. It is my understanding that this warrant is for actions that took place in April 2021 which leads me to the conclusion that there were multiple opportunities to deliver the warrant before this public event," he said. "Mr. Hayes was a candidate for city council and I witnessed him at multiple venues where the Sheriff’s Office was present during that time. Selectively enforcing the law is as bad as not enforcing the law. I fully support law enforcement as long as laws and rules are equally enforced.”
This story will be updated when more information is available.