Knoxville police chief 'disturbed' about how officers treated disabled woman
Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel said he was "disturbed and embarrassed" when he watched videos showing how officers treated a 60-year-old disabled woman as they yelled at her, dismissed her requests for medical care and eventually loaded her into a police car where she slumped over and lost consciousness Feb. 5.
Lisa Edwards later died of a stroke.
"My expectation is that our officers treat every person they encounter, regardless of the context or situation, with respect, dignity and basic decency. We should also take pride in helping those who need it," Noel said in a statement.
Community members shared hundreds of critical Facebook comments about the officers' conduct during Edwards' arrest, and many gathered Feb. 27 to hold a vigil in her honor.
Advocates asked why officers yelled at the woman, who was disabled from a previous stroke, for not cooperating with getting into a police van. They also asked why she didn't get medical care even though she begged for it and was already on hospital grounds.
While Edwards' family is trying to gather as much information as possible about what happened in her medical emergency and eventual death earlier in February, one thing is definite, Boylan said. They will be pursuing a lawsuit, possibly against the hospitals who treated Edwards and the police department.
Read Noel's full statement:
As soon as I was notified of the situation involving Lisa Edwards, I went directly to headquarters from church to meet with the Field Operations commander, Central District commander, the Investigations Bureau leadership team and members of the Internal Affairs Unit. We reviewed the now-publicly released videos from that situation, which were incredibly difficult to watch.
“After reviewing the video, I personally called District Attorney General Charme Allen and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch to brief them on that situation. I also notified Police Advisory & Review Committee Director Tiffany Davidson. The involved employees were also placed on administrative leave.
“We cooperated fully with the TBI’s investigation. We also made a commitment to release the video, because we felt strongly that the public both needed and deserved to see it.
“I was disturbed and embarrassed by what I saw in the video.
"My expectation is that our officers treat every person they encounter, regardless of the context or situation, with respect, dignity and basic decency. We should also take pride in helping those who need it.
“The involved employees have been on admin leave since February 5 and a comprehensive internal review of the case is underway.
“Now that the TBI's criminal investigation has concluded and District Attorney General Allen announced that her office would not pursue criminal charges, our Internal Affairs investigators are working to complete that investigation as quickly as possible without compromising the integrity or fairness of that investigation. The results and outcome of the investigation will be released as soon as it has been completed and approved by myself and the chain of command.”
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville police chief 'disturbed' how officers treated disabled woman
