Knoxville police reform activist Nzinga Bayano Amani acquitted

In a win for free speech advocates, a jury acquitted Nzinga Bayano Amani of a charge of blocking a squad car during a demonstration demanding police accountability after a Knoxville police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old student in a high school bathroom.

"The jury got it right," said defense attorney Dillon Zinser, who noted he was appointed by the court to represent Amani just six days prior to the trial. "This was a case where a crime did not occur, where what was charged infringed on First Amendment rights."

Amani, who uses the gender-neutral pronouns they/them, was tried March 7 on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a road after a large demonstration outside the police department in April 2021. They told Knox News they were unaware a warrant had been issued for their arrest.

Months later, Amani was arrested on the charge as they walked out of a community meeting about policing.

Knox County sheriff's deputies handcuffed and carried Amani into a holding room in the City-County Building after that January 2022 arrest, and Amani told Knox News a deputy pinned them to the wall and punched them in the face at least three times. Amani's face was visibly bruised in photos and video taken by Knox News after the encounter.

Amani declined a plea deal related to the April 2021 charges and fought the case all the way to trial by jury.

"It feels good to have this behind me, to be found not guilty of a fraudulent charge," Amani told Knox News.

"This further proves there is a civil conspiracy against me," Amani said, adding they were targeted because they are "the loudest voice" advocating for change.

Amani still faces charges of resisting arrest and assault related to their January 2022 arrest. They have filed a federal lawsuit that asserts police waited to make the arrest until it could become a public spectacle designed to "maximize the chilling and humiliating effect.”

Defense leaned heavily into constitutional issues

The 12-person jury heard the prosecution argue it was a clear-cut case, while Amani's defense countered that the charge was interwoven with fundamental civil rights.

"The state wants to keep it simple," said Assistant District Attorney Amelia Hamilton. "There is one defendant, one charge, one witness, one exhibit."

The prosecution's case rested entirely on Knoxville police officer Christopher Starr's testimony, plus dashboard and body cam footage. Starr testified he was on patrol the evening of April 21, 2021, and headed east on Howard Baker Jr. Drive at Honor Our Troops Drive. He said he was approaching the civilian entrance to KPD’s headquarters when he encountered two people standing in the road directing traffic.

Starr said he turned on his lights and siren, at which point Amani stepped in front of his vehicle, held their arm out and shouted "Whoa." In the video shown in court, Starr rolled down his window slightly before yelling at Amani to get out of the road. Amani gestured and yelled a reply, then Starr got out of his car and told Amani again to get out of the road.

Amani and the person with them in the road yelled obscenities, but moved off the road at the same time. Starr said "thank you" before driving on.

Amani took the stand in the only testimony presented by the defense, describing the mood of the protesters that night as angry, sad and traumatized. They said that as demonstrators dispersed, it became clear that someone needed to direct traffic to avoid injuries from vehicles trying to leave the area.

Amani testified Starr's vehicle "came out of nowhere, really fast," adding they made a "split-second decision" to try to block him from possibly running someone over.

"I couldn’t make out what he was saying, in the heat of the moment," Amani said, admitting they let some "colorful language" fly. "The first thing I heard, I complied with."

The prosecutor said Amani's attorney was trying to use the case like a pulpit, telling the jury the facts were clear: Amani was in the road unlawfully and refused to follow the direction of a uniformed officer.

"Look at the facts, look at the law," she told the jury.

But the defense was built on a larger issue: Free speech and the freedom to assemble.

"Defending our Constitution – that’s what this case is all about," Zinser said.

What led to the trial

The protest that spurred the Knoxville Police Department to cite Amani was one of dozens that followed in the weeks after a Knoxville police officer shot and killed Anthony Thompson Jr. in 2021.

Amani told Knox News that Starr's version of the events is inaccurate, and pointed out that Starr is the same officer who arrested them in 2016 on charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of a road near Market Square during a demonstration. Those charges were later dismissed.

There were "hundreds, if not thousands of us on the street" during the 2021 demonstration outside Knoxville police headquarters, Amani told Knox News.

Amani made public appearances for months after the protest, most notably as a candidate for the Knoxville City Council, but law enforcement made no effort to arrest them on the warrant.

In January 2022, when Amani appeared at a meeting designed to gather community input on what leaders should look for in a new police chief, Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested them outside the meeting room. Mayor Indya Kincannon's office had asked law enforcement to stay away from the public meeting.

"They're clearly targeting community activists and folks who are politically speaking up for real public safety in the city, and who are against criminalization, brutality, and cops," Amani said. "I'm a hard critic, I organize things, and I ran for office to do all the things I'm talking about in real life, right? So I'm a target and KPD has it out for me."

Zinser told Knox News that in order to sustain a conviction, the state needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Amani intentionally, knowingly or recklessly disobeyed a police order to move.

“In this case, Nzinga clearly followed the instruction of Officer Starr, and moved as soon as (they were) told," Zinser said. "All of this can be seen on the police body camera and cruiser footage. It is evident in this case that Nzinga Amani did not break the law."

Liz Kellar is a public safety reporter for Knox News. You can reach her by email at lkellar@knoxnews.com. Angela Dennis is the Knox News social justice, race and equity reporter. You can reach her by email at angela.dennis@knoxnews.com or by phone at 865-407-9712.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville police reform activist Nzinga Bayano Amani acquitted