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Recordings show man's fatal encounter with deputy; sheriff calls review 'closed'

Investigative files and recordings shed more light on what happened the night in 2016 that a Sevier County man died after being thrown to the ground by a Blount County deputy.

A little more than a half hour after Anthony Michael Edwards was thrown to the ground by a Blount County deputy, a supervisor wanted to know exactly what had happened.

"Listen, did you slam him or did you drop him?" the unidentified voice can be heard asking Deputy Jerry Burns early the night of July 25, 2016, near the intersection of Winchester Drive and Patterson Road in the county.

An unconscious Edwards, 25, of Sevier County, who later died after hitting his head, had just been taken away in an ambulance.

"Either way --" the supervisor started to say.

"I probably more so slammed him," Burns replied.

"Why did you slam him?" the supervisor said.

"Well, I mean, I just went to grab him. I didn't mean to slam him," the deputy replied.

The conversation is contained in digital files that are part of the Blount County Sheriff's Office's investigative review into Edwards' death and the way Burns treated him after encountering him about 1 a.m. July 25, 2016.

Edwards was declared dead at University of Tennessee Medical Center from a brain injury the next day, although records show medical officials considered him brain dead within a couple hours of the incident with Burns.

Burns was not disciplined after Edwards' death, according to Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marian O'Briant.

This week attorney Troy Bowlin II filed a federal lawsuit against the county, Burns, Sheriff James Berrong and others, alleging excessive use of force. Edwards' survivors seek millions of dollars in damages in the action filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

After word of the lawsuit became public, Blount County authorities checked on Tuesday whether the FBI or the Blount County district attorney general thought any criminal or federal actions would be taken in the case. According to documents, neither found reason to pursue any punitive action in the case.

On Wednesday, Berrong issued a statement.

"Our investigation into the death involving Anthony Michael Edwards is officially closed. Our findings are consistent with the evidence in the case. With the release of the investigative file today, you will see the full story. We do not have the privilege of telling just one side of the story; we must tell the whole story, with the evidence to back up what occurred on the night of July 25th.

"The Blount County District Attorney General reviewed the evidence, and based on that evidence, the Attorney General did not move forward with criminal charges against any of the individuals involved."

File photo of Blount County Sheriff James Berrong on Feb. 19, 2016. 

10News reviewed the file on Wednesday, which included transcribed interviews of Burns, Deputy Jim Patty and others who responded to the scene after Edwards was hurt.

In no written report reviewed by 10News did Burns or Patty refer to what Burns did as "slamming" Edwards to the ground. Burns said in a written report filed hours after the encounter that he "took him to the ground."

Two men on the road

Burns was checking on a report of several suspicious men in the area the night he saw Burns and an acquaintance named Travis Hickam, 34, walking on the road.

When he stopped, Hickam cooperated but Burns gave an obviously false birth date and then took off running. Hickam sat on a curb, although video showed he hid a syringe as Burns dealt with Edwards.

<p>Blount County Sheriff's Office</p>

Burns warned he would fire his Taser when Edwards ran, but Edwards kept running. The Taser deployed but didn't hit Edwards.

Burns caught up to Edwards and they struggled. The action was caught mostly by audio. It occurred outside of the view of Burns' dash camera. Edwards appeared to continue resisting, arguing and declaring that he was having a "seizure" and accusing Burns of hurting him.

The deputy cuffed Edwards with his hands in front of him because it was the only way to put the cuffs on, he later said.

Burns yelled repeatedly for Edwards to quit fighting him. Patty arrived to help. Patty warned Edwards he'd use his Taser if Edwards didn't cooperate.

Together the deputies raised Edwards up from the ground, video from Patty's cruiser showed. They walked off camera.

Edwards sounded apologetic, accusatorial, and also insisted he was ready to cooperate.

By now it was about 1:03 a.m., according to digital records.

Soon after they walked off camera to Patty's cruiser, there were obvious sounds of a scuffle, shouting and swearing by at least one deputy and then silence.

Related: Lawsuit accuses deputy in fatal encounter

That was followed by heavy breathing and one of the deputies uttering a curse word.

Within moments, Patty was alerting dispatchers that they needed an ambulance and that they were with someone who had suffered a head injury.

In their written reports, Burns and Patty would say that Edwards tried again to run as they put him in Patty's cruiser. According to the investigative file, Edwards kicked Patty in the groin area. And that's when Burns picked him up and Edwards ended up being tossed to the ground, striking his head against asphalt.

Bowlin's lawsuit alleges Burns used excessive force. The lawsuit also charges the Sheriff's Office with promoting a "culture of violence."

Edwards had a history of mostly minor criminal convictions such as misdemeanor assault, domestic violence and vandalism, according to records. After his death, traces of numerous drugs were found in his blood including methamphetamine and methadone, according to a report.

The Sevier Countian had a history of drug abuse, a girlfriend told investigators later.

'Tragic event'

On the digital recordings released by the department, what appears to be Edwards' labored breathing and snuffling can be heard after his head hit the pavement. It begins about eight minutes after he ends up on the ground and continues until a medical crew arrives to attempt to give him aid.

He was bleeding from at least one ear, his eyes were open, his pupils remained dilated and he was unconscious, according to the deputies.

Patty appeared often to try to rouse Edwards, addressing him as "Anthony."

Patty, who ended up being fired several months later after allegedly trying to meet an underage girl in North Carolina, talked with a supervisor about what Burns did on the scene, recordings show.

As he relayed what happened, Patty noted that Burns had "slammed" Edwards to the ground.

"You knew that, right?" Patty said.

Was it a "slam", the supervisor asked, or a drop?

Blount County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Allen Russell, who worked the graveyard shift, responded to the scene after Edwards was hurt.

He told an investigating detective later that what had happened was "just a tragic event on all accounts" -- for Edwards "and on the deputy's part that had to, you know, that's gonna have to live with this."

After the 10 or so minutes that Burns chased and worked to subdue Edwards, the deputy remarked to others on the scene that his hamstring and knee hurt. But he said he didn't think he'd require medical attention, according to the recordings. He referred at one point to Edwards as the "little crackhead."

Minutes after Burns spoke to the supervisor, admitting he "more so" slammed than dropped Edwards, Burns talked again with someone about what had happened, recordings show.

By now, he was at his cruiser. It was about 2:01 a.m.

"Right down here is where we were fighting," he could be heard saying at the cruiser. "Every time I’d try to handcuff him or get him up he’d swing on me or run.

"Once Patty got here Patty stuck the Taser to him. And he was like, I’m going to cooperate, I'm going to cooperate.

"We took him and I went to put him in the back seat of Patty’s vehicle. As soon as I put him in he took off running again.

"So I grabbed him. When I grabbed him he kicked Patty in the ----.

"And I just picked him up and slammed him on the ground," he says in the recording.

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