KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department has released the body camera footage of authorities entering a home and detaining people while conducting a search warrant on Asheville Highway on April 7.
James Lee Dickens died after he reported feeling unwell as the search warrant was being conducted, KPD said. The bodycam video shows the search warrant being served, as well as Dickens' growing visibly ill until first responders arrive.
KPD previously said the search warrant was obtained as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation by the TBI, according to KPD. Numerous people, including Dickens' daughter, were detained. When the video starts, it shows authorities detaining people in the apartment's kitchen.
"I don't understand. I don't understand. Me and my daughter here," Dickens said in the first two minutes of the video, as officers put him in handcuffs. "Please, can I get up over there with my child? Please, man."
He also said he was confused about the incident. In the video, authorities tell him they're doing their jobs and will answer his questions soon. Officers sit him up on the ground of the kitchen before searching the people in the apartment.
Authorities and the detained people sit together in the kitchen, and Dickens starts telling them he needs to urinate. He is eventually led to the bathroom and stays there for around a minute before he is led back. The group then waits together for several minutes.
"I'm getting real dizzy and sweaty, y'all. I got a heart problem," Dickens said around 18 minutes into the video.
He then starts to hang his head and look down, waiting with the officers. They start asking for identification from the group. The group starts telling officers that Dickens is sick.
"He needs to take his medicine," said one of the people who were detained.
Officers ask what was wrong with him, and officers get Dickens a trash bin. The group then starts telling officers that he needs his medication, and starts trying to direct officers towards his medicine.
"He needs to take his meds. His daughter knows where his meds is," said one person.
The video shows her trying to direct officers to where medicine could be, pointing out a drawer. The group tells officers that he has heart problems. However, the officers do not find his medicine.
Authorities ask Dickens if he needs an ambulance, or if he needs Narcan. Around 22 minutes into the video, they ask the group what's wrong with him before deciding to call for an ambulance to check on Dickens.
The conversation then shifts back to identification, trying to get IDs from the group. One person tells officers his ID is in his car. Around 25 minutes from the start of the video, a TBI agent introduced himself to the group and said they were executing a search warrant.
After around 32 minutes, EMS workers arrive to attend to Dickens. His daughter shouted to get his attention, and the workers start asking for his name. Dickens starts swaying while the EMS workers arrive.
"What's going on today, sir? James, I need you to talk to me, sir. What's going on today?" one of the EMS workers said.
Other EMS workers tell him that he has heart problems and the group starts telling them that Dickens takes medicine for his heart. An EMS worker asks Dickens' daughter if he had a heart attack and the two start speaking.
Dickens' breathing starts to sound strained and authorities remove his handcuffs while the EMS workers start treating him. He also appears to be limp and sweaty.
KPD said medical assistance arrived just before 10 p.m. and Dickens was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in an ambulance. The police department said his condition "quickly and for unknown reasons deteriorated," before he died shortly after.
KPD also said Dickens' death is being investigated by TBI's Criminal Investigation Division and KPD's Office of Professional Standards.
You can watch the bodycam video below. The video includes strong language and images that could be unsettling for some people. Viewer discretion is advised.