Jeremy Jinnett, Ty Compton, Chris Whitfield
Chris Whitfield
Jeremy Jinnett
Ty Compton
Michael Allen Mallicoat
A criminal and internal investigation is underway, after three Knoxville
Police officers were accused of beating a man who was already handcuffed.
The incident happened February 9 on Grainger Avenue in North
Knoxville. Several neighbors witnessed it.
According to a press release from KPD, Chief David Rausch personally
reviewed the video of the arrest of Michael Allen Mallicoat, after hearing from
a concerned member of the community.
Mallicoat was injured during the arrest. A female KPD officer also received
minor injuries.
The three officers, Ty Compton, Jeremy Jinnett, and Chris Whitfield, have
all been placed on administrative leave during the investigations.
Jinnett has been with KPD since 2002. Compton was hired in 2007, and
Whitfield joined the force in 2009.
Neighborhood Watch member Ricky Stallings said he was not present during the
alleged assault, but said neighbors have been telling him a lot about the
incident.
Stallings said, "We understand that Mr. Mallicoat was intoxicated and
was a little bit on the out of control side and KPD had to put a little control
back into it and then I understand that he was resisting arrest."
Though Stallings didn't see the alleged abuse, he said he did witness
something else when he reached the intersection of Grainger and Luttrell
avenues.
"I observed and noticed that he was in the grass area bleeding from the
face," Stallings said.
Stallings said the police department does a great job and he's not out to
bash the department. He wants the right thing done.
"I'm not here to upset the KPD. I want them to be our friends and I
want it to be understandable that we need them here, but if there is wrongdoing
by KPD we need to deal with that," said Stallings.
The Police Advisory Review Committee (PARC) said a couple of complaints have
been filed against the accused officers in the past; however those complaints
were not substantiated.
The Knoxville Police Department said it's the department's policy not to
comment on an ongoing investigation.