Hamilton County commissioners unanimously approved a $150,000 settlement Wednesday with Chattanooga rapper Charles Toney and his attorneys, bringing an end to a five-year legal battle over a deputy’s alleged use of excessive force.
Blake Kilpatrick is still employed with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office as a sergeant in the uniformed services division, according to a February personnel roster.
He was promoted to sergeant in Aug. 2022, Matt Lea, sheriff’s office spokesman, said by email.
Kilpatrick was filmed punching and kicking Toney, who was handcuffed and on the ground, on Dec. 3, 2018. One year later, Toney and his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against Kilpatrick and Hamilton County officials.
Toney was arrested that day on several felony warrants, according to the lawsuit.
He allegedly spat at Kilpatrick during the arrest, who was a deputy at the time, according to a recent filing in the case.
“Then Kilpatrick, who is standing over Toney sitting on the ground with hands cuffed behind his back, delivers a flurry of blows to Toney’s head, face and the back of his neck, knocking him to a prone position on the pavement,” the filing states.
After the video went viral online, then-Sheriff Jim Hammond placed Kilpatrick on desk duty, and former District Attorney Neal Pinkston asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate.
Kilpatrick is now assigned to the Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy unit, Lea said. Beyond that, the office declined to comment because the incident pertains to ongoing and pending legal matters.
The FBI Knoxville Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee did not respond to a request to confirm the status of their criminal investigation into Kilpatrick’s actions that day.
Since then, Toney has had other run-ins with local law enforcement.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga rapper sues Hamilton County, sheriff’s office and deputy for 2018 beating)
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to simple possession of cocaine for resale and simple possession of amphetamine and marijuana in Hamilton County, according to the clerk’s website.
Toney was also arrested Aug. 26, 2021, after detectives responded to a narcotics complaint at a Fort Oglethorpe home. The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office did not respond to confirm the status of the case.
Last year, Toney pleaded not guilty to simple battery family violence in Catoosa County, according to its clerk’s website. His case was placed on a “dead docket” — it wasn’t dismissed but the charges are on hold indefinitely.
William Tidwell and Matthew Tidwell, the attorneys representing Kilpatrick, did not respond to a request for comment.
Andrew Clarke, Toney’s attorney, declined to comment last week; he did not respond Wednesday to a second request.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.