Dramatic bodycam footage shows police shooting a Tennessee teen in his high school bathroom grabbing a gun while resisting arrest – as officials announced that none of the officers will be charged.
Anthony J. Thompson Jr., 17, was sitting in a bathroom stall at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville when officers came to arrest him on April 12 after his ex-girlfriend’s mother filed a formal complaint of domestic violence.
When told to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, the teen suddenly struggled as he reached for a gun in his hoodie – and it fired in battle.
Officer Jonathon Clabough saw the gun “with Anthony Thompson’s hand” on the butt and “thinks, ‘I’m about to die,’” said Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen during a two-hour release. long press conference Wednesday.
Clabough can be seen removing his weapon and shooting Thompson in the shoulder, firing again when Thompson fell to the ground with the officers around him.
The teenager’s gun fell to the ground during the scuffle, but the officers all said they didn’t know at the time – and assumed he had it in his hand, ready to fire.
Clabough’s second shot accidentally hit police officer Adam Wilson in the leg, a wound that officers initially believed was due to the Thompson shooting, Allen said.
The images showed another student in the bathroom who was also handcuffed and held on the floor, crying out in terror at the sight of blood coming from his fellow student’s body.
At least three other Austin East students have died from gun violence this year, officials noted.
A medical examiner’s report found that, because of the way Clabough shot Thompson, there was nothing the officers or school nurse could have done to save his life.
“This is a matter of self-defense,” Allen insisted, announcing that no charges would be brought.
“It was not an easy thing; it wasn’t cut cleanly, ”he said, adding that“ at the end of the day, we found out that Agent Clabough’s shooting was justified. “
Knoxville Police Commissioner Eve Thomas said in a statement that she was grateful that the investigation found her agents’ actions to be justified and “cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Thompson’s family spent four hours with Allen earlier that day looking at every detail of the footage, she said.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said she contacted Thompson’s family to express her condolences, but they did not want to meet her.
“My heart goes out to the family of Anthony Thompson Jr. And also to the other families of children who died in different circumstances, all from the same school in such a short time. It’s heartbreaking, ”she said.
The family is represented by Ben Crump, the high-profile civil rights attorney who also helped George Floyd’s family.
“Again, when a black person is murdered, in this case a black child, the police quickly form a narrative to justify the death,” Crump had said Mondaybefore the images were released.
After interrupting in-person classes due to the most recent admissions, students will return on Thursday.
With pole wires