Hamilton County District Attorney calls on TBI in police beating (with video)

photo Candido Medina-Resendiz

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston on Thursday asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to investigate the arrest of a Red Bank man beaten by police in April.

Pinkston specifically asked the TBI to review the video that captured the events leading up to the arrest, the arrest itself and the circumstances surrounding the lack of availability of that video during early court proceedings.

Candido Medina-Resendiz, 24, was beaten by Red Bank police during a traffic stop on April 13. The encounter left Medina-Resendiz with a swollen-shut eye, a fractured eye socket and cuts and bruises on his face.

Medina-Resendiz was charged with simple assault, resisting arrest and driving under the influence by consent from the April 13 incident, when he was a passenger in the car.

An internal investigation by Red Bank police concluded that the officer involved, Mark Kaylor, did not use excessive force. The investigation also commended Kaylor for his actions.

However, attorneys for Medina-Resendiz believe Kaylor did use excessive force when he struck Medina-Resendiz seven times in the head while other officers held him down and attempted to handcuff him. Medina-Resendiz was hit with a stun gun three times during the altercation.

Pinkston sent Medina-Resendiz's case back to a grand jury on Wednesday after receiving the video of the arrest, because prosecutors did not receive the video before Medina-Resendiz initially appeared before a grand jury on Aug. 27.

That means the grand jury did not consider the video when it decided there was enough evidence to bring Medina-Resendiz to court on the charges. The district attorney's office only received the video on Sept. 15, although a defense attorney had filed a subpoena ordering that the video be turned over before a July 7 preliminary hearing.

In that hearing, Red Bank City Judge Johnny Houston took Kaylor to task for not providing the video to Medina-Resendiz's attorney. Kaylor said that he no longer had the video in his possession, and that was why he did not turn it over to the court.

"[The subpoena] was directed to me for video evidence that I have, and I don't have any evidence," Kaylor said.

Pinkston said the TBI investigation will look into the circumstances surrounding the availability of the video as the Medina-Resendiz case progressed.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.

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