Attorney highlights discrepancies in police stories in Anthony Thompson Jr. lawsuit
The officers who attempted to arrest Anthony Thompson Jr. before he was shot and killed inside an Austin-East Magnet High School bathroom didn’t have probable cause to make the arrest, the family has alleged in a lengthy new federal court filing that seeks answers to questions about what happened that day.
This month's filing, which is part of the far-reaching lawsuit against the city of Knoxville and the officers present during the shooting, points to discrepancies in official reports, including:
What officers said leading up to the arrest about whether they had probable cause to make an arrest.
Allegations that officers used unnecessary force and that officer Jonathan Clabough’s hand was on the gun inside Thompson’s hoodie pocket before it fired.
That officers withheld Thompson’s medical care longer than they’ve admitted to previously.
Here are more details from the filing:
Probable cause
Much of the lawsuit hangs on whether officers had legal standing to arrest Thompson, specifically whether Thompson assaulted his girlfriend at school that day, as her mother told police.
When police walked into the school, they reviewed security camera footage showing what appeared to be an argument between Thompson and his girlfriend. But the new filing goes into great detail, saying, among other things, that it cannot be determined what was said during the argument. There is no audio with the video, but it shows Thompson getting in her face. At one point she pushed him away.
It is not clear, the lawsuit said, how much of the clip is actually an argument, if there was even one at all. It includes text messages between the two throughout the day, which show a back-and-forth conversation that starts flirty, teeters into an argument and ends with her texting Thompson frantically after he was shot and likely dead, asking if he’s OK.
In court filings, the city has maintained the video shows an argument and denies there is no evidence of violence.
The lawsuit includes an email sent to Thompson’s mother from Assistant Principal Ryan Milani that updates her on an argument Thompson and his girlfriend. It said Thompson had a “hiccup” and was told to walk a lap to cool off. Milani made no reference to an assault.
The lawsuit points out contradictory statements, such as testimony saying two principals and the school security officer intervened in an argument between Thompson and his girlfriend, but there is no video to show this. The video of the two arguing has no one else in the frame.
Use of excessive force
The family says police body camera footage shows officer Clabough was holding Thompson’s gun in his hand while he and another officer were trying to wrestle it out of Thompson’s hoodie pocket.
It was at this moment, they said, that the gun fired – hitting a nearby trashcan – and causing the domino effect that led Clabough to fire his gun and kill Thompson.
Authorities have dismissed any hint of unnecessary force from the beginning, ever since Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen declined to bring charges against the officers days after the shooting.
Police Chief Paul Noel added to the defense of the officers in August when he explained the results of KPD’s internal investigation. The report found none of the department's use of force policies were violated.
"Based upon my review of this case and my 25 years in law enforcement, the use of force and actions of our officers were justified and they were within the policy of the Knoxville Police Department," Noel said. "I absolutely feel that our officers handled this very chaotic situation in the best way they possibly could."
Thompson didn't get immediate first aid
The new filing also dives into the lack of medical care rendered to Thompson, specifically showing large discrepancies in timelines explained by those involved. This isn’t entirely new beacuse KPD’s own internal review noted the lack of immediate care. Even as the review cleared the officers of wrongdoing, it revealed they did not jump down to check Thompson's vital signs as he lay dying below them in the small bathroom.
Thompson was left on the floor for at least two minutes without medical care as he died, even though officer Adam Willson, who was shot by one of his fellow officers, received immediate medical attention and Lt. Stan Cash took time to wash his hands while standing over the teen.
It took more time to summon a school nurse to provide medical help after Cash realized he didn't have the expertise to help Thompson.
The timeline is complicated by conflicting timestamps from body camera video and the KPD call log. The potential range for when Thompson received medical attention could be an hour or more, depending on which timestamp you use, according to the lawsuit.
What's next in the lawsuit?
The legal process continues to play out.
The attorney for the individual officers previously asked the judge to toss out the lawsuit, leaning heavily on qualified immunity, and saying there isn't a question that the officers did anything wrong.
Thompson’s attorney, Margaret Held, has argued, however, there are a number of questions about what happened, and the officers should have to answer those questions or the suit should head to a jury trial.
Both sides have argued for and against this point, but ultimately it will be up to a judge who will likely rule one of the following:
The officers are covered by qualified immunity and the case against the officers is tossed out (while the case against the city of Knoxville would remain).
The officers are not covered by qualified immunity and should stand a trial.
Neither is true and the judge orders the officers and city to answer questions.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @tyler_whetstone. Make our community, our society and our republic stronger by supporting robust local journalism. Subscribe online at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Cops lacked probable cause to arrest Anthony Thompson Jr., lawyer says
