KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Authorities say an ex-Tennessee jailer caught on video slamming a handcuffed man to the ground has been arrested on charges of aggravated assault and official oppression.
News media outlets report that former Cocke County jailer Kelton Townsend was booked into the same jail where he once worked.
Media outlets report that footage from another officer’s body camera shows Townsend grabbing a man by the throat and throwing him to the ground while the man was booked into the Cocke County jail on Feb. 21.
The video shows the man cursed at officers and told Townsend not to take his wallet but did not resist physically before the body slam.
The man, Jerry Miller, filed a federal excessive-force lawsuit against the county, claiming the assault left him with eight broken ribs and a punctured lung.