Man Suing Knoxville Police For Brutality Charged With Crimes After Filing Suit

A man suing the Knoxville Police Department for brutality has now been charged with resisting arrest and assaulting officers.

Dash cam video showed Ernesto Rodriguez being beaten by police officers in July 2014. Rodriguez says he was beaten until he was unconscious, but the police department says his injuries came from falling on the pavement.

According to the lawsuit, Officer Kimber responded to a domestic incident at Roaming Drive on July 9, 2014. The 911 caller said Rodridguez had thrown a knife, then walked down the street.

Office Kimber found Rodridguez nearby, made him stand with his stomach on the squad car’s hood and tried to cuff him even though Rodridguez said the cuffs were too small to fit on his wrists. Rodridguez, who is Mexican and spoke very little English, says he screamed in agony and attempted to let Kimber know the cuffs were too tight and hurting him. He says Kimber continued to try to force the cuffs on his arms.

Evidence was submitted in the lawsuit that shows Officer Kimber filled out a patient hold form for Rodridguez, saying he was being held for failure to obey court orders in an active civil child support cases, but did not note any assault charges. The lawsuit also claims that four warrants “falsely accused him of two counts aggravated assault and two counts of assault,” were filed by the Knoxville Police Department. Those cases were dismissed on November 13, 2014. During the time before the warrants were dismissed, Rodridguez said he was detained at a Knox County detention facility where he was unable to care for his family or run his busines

Court records documenting Rodriguez’s charges allege he became agitated with an officer who was responding to an aggravated assault call on Rodriguez. The 911 caller said Rodridguez had thrown a knife, then walked down the street.

The records say when the officer tried to place handcuffs on Rodriguez, he tried to strike them.