Prosecutors drop charges against Starbucks manager injured by deputies at coffee shop

Knox County prosecutors have dismissed all three charges against a Starbucks shift manager who was injured by Knox County sheriff's deputies at the Cedar Bluff Road coffee shop, and the sheriff's office has opened an internal investigation into the man's arrest Oct. 21.

Nashon Bain-Greenidge, a recent college graduate who worked at Starbucks to put himself through school, suffered serious cuts to his head and face and injuries to his hand when deputies arrested him outside the shop after he asked them why they had blocked entry to the parking lot.

"My office received additional body camera evidence from this incident on the day of the preliminary hearing," Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen told Knox News in a written statement. "After review of the body camera evidence, I asked the court to dismiss the charges."

Deputies Wyatt Brown and Travis Field submitted reports about the incident at the Starbucks that were sparse, contradictory and filled with descriptions that set off alarm bells among policing watchdogs. They said they were at the Starbucks responding to a call from a man who reported he had been the victim of a domestic assault. The man went to the coffee shop to get away from a woman who assaulted him, he said, but she followed him there and he called for help.

Deputies' accounts of what happened when Bain-Greenidge approached them outside to ask what was going on included discrepancies, including whether the arrest of the shift manager and deputies started inside the entryway or outside the coffee shop.

Brown reported that Bain-Greenidge obstructed their investigation by asking repeated questions and made a fist, leading to a physical altercation. 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."

In contrast, Field reported they moved to arrest Bain-Greenidge after he grabbed a push bar on the store's 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 initially declined to talk to Knox News about the incident, which is not unusual, said Melba Pearson, a civil rights and criminal justice expert at Florida International University. She told Knox News people who are injured by police during an arrest are often fearful of how speaking out may be used against them.

After all the charges were dismissed, Bain-Greenidge told Knox News on Nov. 27, "I am relieved that the charges against me have been dropped so I can move on with my life, but all of this happened and for what? This taught me that the system really needs reform."

Bain-Greenidge's mother, Verna Greenidge, told Knox News she and her son are happy the charges have been dropped but the permanent physical and emotional damage can't be reversed.

"I look at my son's injuries to his face every single day and it hurts me as a parent. To watched the video and saw my son lying on the ground with officers on top of him. That is a feeling you can't describe," she said. "He was just working a shift on Saturday and trying to do the right thing. I still wonder what would be if we didn't have the means to get a lawyer. It seems as if the institution of policing is broken."

Pearson 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, she 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.

Sheriff's office spokesperson Kimberly Glenn declined to answer questions after the incident, including whether either of the deputies has previously been the subject of civilian complaints. At 6 p.m. the evening before Thanksgiving, Spangler released a statement.

He said the domestic assault report "potentially involved two firearms" and that several officers nearby "responded to this call due to the high-risk nature involving firearms at an establishment that was open for business and likely contained patrons."

In his written statement, Spangler said, "On Nov. 2, 2023, the Office of Professional Standards was made aware of the incident that occurred between the officers and the Starbucks employee and began to gather preliminary information," Spangler said in the written statement.

"Now that the criminal case has been adjudicated, the Office of Professional Standards has proceeded with the administrative investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident between the officers and the Starbucks employee."

Spangler said he will not answer questions about the incident until the internal investigation has been completed. He promised to make the findings of that investigation public.

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.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Prosecutors drop charges against man hurt in Knoxville Starbucks arrest