CLINTON — Anderson County, Sheriff Paul White
and four deputies have been named in a Circuit Court lawsuit that alleges
assault and battery and false arrest in what’s described as a case of mistaken
identity.
But Herbert S. Moncier and Houston S. Havasy,
the Knoxville attorneys for Anderson County resident Carlen Reeves, omitted a
key component of their complaint — the date of the alleged incident.
Reeves was injured on Sept. 13, 2013, during
the episode, acquaintance Ralph Martin said.
According to the lawsuit, Reeves was a
passenger in a vehicle driven by Randy Craig on Highway “61 and 62” in Anderson
County when four deputies “activated their emergency equipment” and required
Craig to pull over.
The deputies ordered the two men out of the
vehicle and told them to raise their hands and “walk backwards towards their
voice,” according to the complaint.
While guns were pointed at him, Reeves was
ordered to “go down on his knees with his hands raised,” it continues. Reeves
fell while doing so, “heard a loud pop and experienced a sharp pain in his left
knee.”
Reeves was left kneeling on the roadside for
some five minutes before he was placed in the back of squad car where the seat
was pushed against his knee for another 10 to 15 minutes, according to the
complaint.
The deputies “then explained the arrest was a
mistake” and released Reeves and Craig, it states.
As a result of the incident, Reeves had to
undergo knee surgery and physical therapy, according to the lawsuit, which
seeks a jury trial and compensatory damages.
Deputies named in the complaint are Kenny
Bradley, Rick Coley, Josh Zisman and Steve Abner. The legal action was filed
Monday.