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Knoxville activist sentenced to unsupervised probation on resisting arrest charge stemming from Jan. 2022 arrest

Prosecutors decided not to pursue an assault charge in the case, stemming from a January 2022 arrest in the City County Building.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville activist and former city council candidate was handed a 90-day sentence of unsupervised parole on Thursday for a charge of resisting arrest.

Jurors convicted Nzinga Amani on Sept. 1 of resisting arrest and Judge Hector Sanchez imposed the sentence. However, jurors were deadlocked on another charge in the case — assault. Prosecutors chose not to pursue that charge anymore.

The sentence stems from a case where Amani was arrested in the City County Building following a public meeting to discuss the selection of a new police chief who would replace then-Chief Eve Thomas.

An arrest report from the Knox County Sheriff's Office said Deputy Ronald Chaperon was told on Jan. 7, 2022, that Amani had a warrant out for their arrest. It said deputies were asked to wait until the meeting had concluded before taking Amani into custody. The arrest that followed was captured on camera by others in the building.

The warrant was for a traffic obstruction charge, which happened the night of April 21, 2021, during community protests in front of the former Knoxville Police Department headquarters following the police shooting of Austin-East Magnet High School student Anthony Thompson Jr.

A year after the arrest, Amani filed a lawsuit against the city and Knox County, saying they were beaten during the arrest. On Sept. 25, a status report was filed in that lawsuit that said the parties involved agreed to file a joint report within 30 days.

In the lawsuit, Amani said he was never informed of the warrant and could have been served at any time over the eight months leading to the January 2022 arrest. A riot charge connected to that warrant was dropped in May 2022.

   

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