BCSO deputy avoids indictment for courtroom scuffle caught on camera but found guilty of policy violations

CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF) – A Bradley County Sheriff’s deputy accused of using excessive force on a restrained inmate has been criminally cleared but reprimanded for violating BCSO policies.

According to a Bradley County Sheriff’s Office administrative investigative report obtained by News 12, on March 31 at 2:27 PM, Deputy Gene Delk who also served as a General Sessions Court security officer was accused of shoving Tony Edward Davis to the ground and dragging him out the courtroom.  Davis was a restrained inmate who was attending court.

The incident was captured on courtroom surveillance video which News 12 has also obtained.

According to the internal administrative investigation report, the video was review and clearly shows Deputy Delk using booth hands to shove Davis to the ground before picking him up by the belly chain and dragging him to the holding cell adjacent to the General Sessions Court Room.

Davis claimed that his head was rammed into the door frame and according to the report, the video shows his head hit near the doorway. The report went on to say that it did not appear Deputy Delk acted intentionally.

According to the report, earlier in the day, Deputy Delk arrested Davis on active warrants for failure to appear in court, violation of probation and failure to pay child support while he was in court.  The report says Deputy Delk escorted Davis to the booking area of the Bradley County Jail. After Davis was booked, he was taken back to court.

While in court, Davis was sitting on a bench where inmates are required to wait. The report says Deputy Delk walked over to Davis and stood him up in a non-threatening posture. According to the report, at some point Davis became upset and began talking in an aggressive manner.

When Deputy Delk was interviewed, he told investigators that he believed Davis was a physical threat to him and he reacted to the threat by pushing Davis away to ensure he was not head butted or injured.

After the incident was reviewed by local chain of command, a criminal investigation was conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations at the request of the District Attorney General’s Office.

The results of the TBI investigation were presented to a Bradley County grand jury. A “Not True Bill” was the result and Deputy Delk was not indicted of any criminal charge.

Despite being cleared of criminal charges, an internal administrative investigation revealed that Deputy Delk violated three policies regarding improper use of force when he shoved and dragged Davis. The three policies that were violated include:

• Improper conduct by means of excessive force resulting in injury
• Conduct in arresting and dealing with law violators
• Use of force

The internal administrative investigation came to that conclusion after watching the surveillance video and interviewing Davis and Deputy Delk.

Davis told investigators that prior to being arrested; he hit his head at work and injured himself. He said the previous injury had been reopened when Delk hit his head on the doorway in the courtroom.  He also said his nose was injured as well when Delk hit his head on the door in the courtroom. Davis also stated his leg had been injured.  Davis’s injures were later photographed as evidence.

Davis further explained to investigators that when he was taken back to the booking area by correction officers, he was beaten in the holding cell by multiple officers.

Investigators looked at surveillance video of the booking area and noted that it appeared Davis was combative with correction officers after returning from court. According to investigators, no excessive force was used by offices in the booking area but the video did not completely show inside the holding cell.

Davis was taken to a local hospital for evaluation where more photos were taken of his injures.It had been determined by doctors that none of his injuries were severe.

Deputy Delk told internal administrative investigators a different chain of events.

According to Delk, he arrested Davis in the courtroom in the morning of March 31 on outstanding warrants. The deputy told investigators that while he was walking Davis to the booking area, he told Davis that he would talk to Davis’s girlfriend to see if there was anything she could do to assist Davis in getting out of jail. Delk also said he told Davis he would get him in to see the judge later that day to help him out.

After the lunch break, Delk reportedly told Davis that he spoke to Davis’s girlfriend who said she couldn’t do anything to get him out of jail. The deputy told investigators that information made Davis nervous and agitated by the time he was brought into the courtroom.

Delk told investigators that he and Davis had a conversation while the two were in the courtroom. During the conversation, Davis reportedly told Deputy Delk he was going to talk to the judge but Delk told him there was nothing the judge could do about the child support warrant. At that point, Deputy Delk stated that Davis said, “this is fu***** bull****.” Delk said he told Davis to sit down but Davis insisted that he speak to the judge.

Delk told investigators that Davis looked at the judge and said, “Judge.” The judge responded by saying he wasn’t going to talk to him. According to the deputy, Davis looked back him and said, “what the f*** are you going to do about it” and started coming toward the deputy.

Delk told investigators that because of the aggressive and threatening manner of Davis, he pushed Davis away then picked him up and carried him towards the door of the holding cell. When they reached the door, he said Davis attempted to hit his own head against the wall. Delk went on to say he pulled Davis away from the door to prevent a head injury.

According to Delk, as Davis was being walked into a cell, he intentionally walked into the door. After Davis was placed into a cell, Delk said Davis ran toward the cell door and stated, “I’m going to get you.”

When Delk was asked by investigators to reevaluate his actions towards Davis, he said he reacted to avoid a head butt, a bite or being spat on.  He reportedly told investigators that looking back on the incident; he might have tried to create distance between him and Davis so that he would have to sue force. Delk went on to say that he believed his actions were not excessive and that according to his training, when a disturbance happens, “you use whatever means necessary to remove it.” Delk further explained that he had not received specific training that prevents him from picking someone up by the belly chain.

Once the internal investigation was complete, Deputy Delk was issued a written reprimand for policy violations and put on unpaid leave for three days. He was also transferred to the transport unit and placed on probation for one year. The written reprimand also states that any further violation may result in more severe discipline.

According to internal affairs, the basis for recommending the policy violations was as follows:

• The suspect was restrained with shackles, belly chain and handcuffs.
• The video did not show the inmate posed any immediate threat to Deputy Delk.
• The force used was not reasonably necessary to bring the incident under control.

Deputy Delk could have disengaged the inmate if his verbal demeanor and body language were escalating or escorted him to a holding cell.

Deputy Delk did strike Davis causing injury which did not appear to be in self-defense or defense of others.