A Black Starbucks manager was injured by deputies who swarmed the store. Their reports raise questions.

The Saturday night shift at Starbucks on Cedar Bluff Road started as usual for Nahshon Bain-Greenidge, a recent Arizona State University sociology grad who worked as a manager to get himself through school.

It ended, however, in a way the 29-year-old will never forget.

The first hint that something was wrong came when several Knox County Sheriff's Office squad cars swarmed the parking lot Oct. 21, blocking access to the busy coffee shop.

Bain-Greenidge walked outside to ask deputies what was happening, concerned about their arrival and why they were blocking customers' cars from entering.

Their encounter went south fast, and ended with the young Black man bloodied, bruised and in handcuffs.

We might never know exactly what happened. Only the deputies' reports speak to the details, and those reports are sparse, contradictory and filled with descriptions that set off alarm bells among policing watchdogs.

Knox County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Kimberly Glenn declined to answer questions, telling Knox News, "It looks like this is still open in court. Therefore, we won't be able to answer questions or make comments until the incident has been adjudicated."

Deputy Wyatt Brown and Travis Field both wrote reports that provided their account of the encounter.

Brown said he and Field were sent to the Starbucks on Cedar Bluff Road after a man called to say he had been the victim of a domestic assault. He went to the coffee shop to get away from the woman who assaulted him, but she followed him there so he called for help.

Brown and Field said deputies talked separately with the man inside the store and the woman outside when Bain-Greenidge walked outside to ask deputies what was going on.

The deputies told Bain-Greenidge they were conducting an investigation, Brown said, and told him to go back inside. When he continued to question them, deputies warned him he was obstructing their investigation.

Brown wrote in his report deputies gave Bain-Greenidge multiple chances to go back inside the coffee shop, but he kept interrupting. Brown said he saw Bain-Greenidge "forming a fist with his left hand," so the deputy grabbed his left arm as the other deputy grabbed his right.

Field's account of what spurred deputies into action differs from Brown's. Fields said they moved to restrain Bain-Greenidge when he tried to grab the push bar on the door.

There are other discrepancies in the accounts. Brown's report shifts the action into the entranceway without explaining when the three men moved inside, saying he and Field "exited through the door."

Outside, Brown said as he and Field tried to "guide the arrestee to the ground," Bain-Greenidge kicked Field's right knee and fought as they handcuffed him once he was on the ground. Field also reported he was kicked.

Field said he brandished a Taser, and Bain-Greenidge stopped resisting and was put into the back of a patrol car.

A deputy drove the Starbucks shift manager to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was treated for cuts to his head, face and hand.

After the violent arrest, Bain-Greenidge was released from custody on his own recognizance right after he was treated at the hospital, an unusual move by deputies who reported he had assaulted one of them, resisted arrest and interfered with their investigation.

Bain-Greenidge's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21. He is charged with three misdemeanor offenses: assault on a first responder, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.

Victims of police violence often feel silenced

Melba Pearson, a civil rights and criminal justice expert at Florida International University, told Knox News the deputies' reports use typical language designed to protect police after they make a violent arrest.

Vague "resisting arrest" charges especially are used by departments across the country to defend themselves against harsh, punitive and unlawful police actions, Pearson said.

Often the arrestee is charged specifically to silence them and coerce them into accepting plea deals so police behavior isn't recounted in public forums like trials, she said.

Bain-Greenidge isn’t giving his account of the arrest, and that’s no surprise, policing experts told Knox News. He has nothing to gain and much more to lose by going on the record.

His experience illustrates the challenges of getting to the bottom of cases of police brutality.

"When there are no other underlying charges stemming from an arrest, other than the classic three of resisting arrest, assault on a responder and disorderly conduct, this is always suspect to me," Pearson told Knox News.

"And people are afraid to speak out, especially when you have these criminal charges against you."

Pearson said police even exert pressure on prosecutors to secure plea deals, which can stipulate defendants must forfeit their right to sue the police.

Community advocates make a difference for those arrested

When Knox County deputies stopped for food late last year at a McAlister’s Deli, they said a high school student refused to serve them. That account was disputed by the girl and her coworker.

The girl was fired after Kimberly Glenn, the sheriff's office spokesperson, and the sheriff's office posted inflammatory messages on their Facebook pages that unleashed a flood of vitriol against the teenager. What they didn't mention is her 17-year-old brother was shot and killed by Knoxville police in April 2021.

When Knox County Commissioner Dasha Lundy learned about the incident, she stood by the girl as she told her story at a commission meeting.

Pearson told Knox News that when community members and advocates unite behind people who undergo violent arrests, they can significantly influence what happens next.

"The support factor is huge," she said. "When those faced with charges feel silenced or afraid to speak out, this is a time when activists and those advocating for victims can make a difference and step up."

Nzinga Bayano Amani, a Knoxville police reform activist and political candidate who has been arrested several times during demonstrations by police who employed force, has fought arrests to mixed results.

He said he was unjustly arrested in 2022 by Knox County sheriff's officers outside a public meeting during Knoxville's search for a new police chief. The arrest stunned community members, particularly after Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon had specifically asked police to stay away from the meeting.

Amani was charged with resisting arrest and assault on a first responder, similar to the charges Bain-Greenidge now faces after he was arrested at Starbucks. In September, Amani was convicted of the resisting arrest charge, and the Knox County District Attorney Office opted not to pursue a retrial when a jury deadlocked on the charge of assaulting an officer.

What we asked the Knox County Sheriff's Office

After reviewing the deputies' written narratives of the arrest, Knox News asked the sheriff's office the following questions about their encounter with Bain-Greenidge. We were told by Glenn on Nov. 17 no response would be forthcoming until the case is resolved in the courts.

• Why do the deputies' accounts differ in where the events occurred (inside or outside)?

• Why do the deputies' accounts differ on why they moved physically against Bain-Greenidge?

• Why was Bain-Greenidge released on his recognizance after being charged with what law enforcement considers serious offenses?

• Have either Wyatt Brown or Travis Field been the subjects of complaints of unnecessary force against a civilian?

• If so, when?

• If so, how were those complaints resolved?

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Nahshon Bain-Greenidge's name. We regret the error.

Angela Dennis is the Knox News race, justice and equity reporter. Email angela.dennis@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AngeladWrites. Instagram @angeladenniswrites. Facebook at Angela Dennis Journalist.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Deputies' reports about arrest that injured Starbucks manager raise questions