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2 of the 4 KPD officers involved in deadly Austin-East High School shooting return to duty

The officer who shot the teen and the SRO who was wounded by officer gunfire during the incident have not been cleared to return to duty, KPD said.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department said two officers involved in the deadly April 12 shooting of a student at Austin-East High School have returned to duty. 

According to KPD, Officer Brian Baldwin and Lt. Stanley Cash are back on duty more than a month after being placed on administrative leave following the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Anthony Thompson Jr. KPD said the two will return to similar duties.

The officer who shot the teen, Officer Jonathon Clabough, and the SRO who was wounded by Clabough during the incident, Officer Brian Wilson, have not been cleared to return to duty yet, according to KPD. Wilson's attorney said he is still trying to recover from his wounds, and KPD said they can't say whether he'd be back if he weren't wounded.

KPD said it is still conducting an internal review into the shooting. If there's no egregious or obvious policy violations, it's not uncommon for officers to be brought back to work while an internal review is underway. 

Anthony Thompson Jr., a 17-year-old student, died during the altercation with police. Officers went to the high school to arrest him after another student accused him of domestic assault.

The officers knew that Thompson was known to carry a gun, but officials said they had no reason to believe he had it with him at the school. Officer Clabough said that he saw the barrel of a gun in Thompson's hoodie pocket during an altercation in the bathroom, leading to the shooting.

In late April, Knox District Attorney General Charme Allen announced her office would not pursue charges against Clabough or the other officers -- saying she believed Clabough was reasonably justified in firing his weapon to protect his life and the lives of other officers during the incident.

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