Chief Deputy Anthony "Tony" BeanUpdate:
Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum has placed Chief Deputy Tony Bean and Sgt. Anthony Bean on suspended leave with pay pending the outcome of the Department of Justice and court proceedings, according to a press release.
Both men will appear before a federal judge on Monday, July 29. Shrum said he is still unable to do any interviews regarding the situation.
The release, from Shrum, stated "An indictment is merely an accusation and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty."
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Original story:
Grundy County, Tennessee, Sheriff Clint Shrum said he is weighing the fate of two officers who were indicted Wednesday on charges of using excessive force.
In an emailed statement, Shrum acknowledged the claims and said the employment status of the father and son is under review.
Grundy County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Anthony "Tony" Bean, 59, and Sgt. Anthony "T.J." Bean, 29, are charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for an incident involving an arrestee, according to a statement from federal officials. It was issued by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee J. Douglas Overbey, Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and FBI- Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Troy A. Sowers.
The arrestee in the first case is identified only as "F.M." in the release.
Sgt. Anthony T.J. BeanFederal officials allege the two men, while on duty for the sheriff's office, used "unreasonable force when they assaulted and injured arrestee F.M. in December of 2017," the federal release states.
Tony Bean also is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law "for an incident involving arrestee C.G.," another person identified only by their initials.
The indictment alleges that, while serving as chief of police with the Tracy City Police Department, Tony Bean used unreasonable force when he assaulted and injured C.G. in August 2014.
Sheriff Clint Shrum confirmed their status Friday after saying Thursday he was weighing his options.
"The investigation into the alleged incident [h]as been ongoing for nearly a year," Shrum said Wednesday in a statement. "The Sheriff's Office has cooperated with the Department of Justice through the investigation and will continue to do so.
"This is certainly not the outcome we expected," Shrum said.
Each of the counts carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, federal officials said.
The case was investigated by the Knoxville Division of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Perry H. Piper of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee and trial attorneys Rebekah J. Bailey and Kathryn E. Gilbert of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at www.facebook.com/benbenton1.