KCSO’s lack of policy on who wears bodycams creates blank spots in shooting death of teen

 

KCSO’s lack of policy on who wears bodycams creates blank spots in shooting death of teen

Portrait of Tyler WhetstoneTyler Whetstone

Knoxville News Sentinel

In 2021, when Anthony Thompson Jr. was killed by police in an Austin-East Magnet High School bathroom, Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen was pressured into quickly releasing officer body camera footage that showed the 17-year-old’s encounter with Knoxville police.

 

On Jan. 3, Knox County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed 18-year-old Daevon Montez Saint-Germain inside his home in South Knox County during a Knox County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team raid.

 

Like 2021, there are public calls for transparency about what happened. There’s little chance, however, anyone will see video of the shooting. That’s because the Knox County Sheriff’s Office does not equip its most aggressive unit with bodycams.

 

The details of what went down in Saint-Germain’s home, then, will be filled in by the deputies who killed him, likely without independent video record to verify their accounts.

 

What we know about the KCSO raid

Knox County SWAT team members were executing a search warrant just before 7:30 a.m. when they tried to take Saint-Germain into custody. Deputies fired at Saint-Germain, striking and killing him.

 

The home of Daevon Montez Saint-Germain on Sevierville Pike in South Knox County.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. No deputies were injured. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating why deputies fired shots. KCSO said in a post to Facebook that Saint-Germain refused to follow orders and brandished a firearm.

 

The TBI will report its findings to Knox County Attorney General Charme Allen for review. Two warrants secured by the sheriff’s office have been filed with Knox County Criminal Court under seal and are not public record.

 

Neither the sheriff’s office nor the TBI has said how many shots were fired, how many deputies fired or how many times Saint-Germain was struck by gunfire.

 

TBI investigators collected several cartridge casings and a rifle, according to a TBI “receipt/release form” obtained by Knox News, but the document doesn’t show which firearm or firearms the casings came from or whether any came from bullets fired by deputies.