TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 27, 2025

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family of David Batts, a former Knoxville Area Transit employee who died after leaving the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on Jan. 7. Crump, along with the Batts family, is calling for the immediate release of all footage related to Batts' death, Knox News reports. The Batts family met with Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen last week, and she informed them that her office would not bring charges against jail employees. Batts' autopsy revealed he died from meningitis and also had fentanyl in his system. In a statement, Allen said meningitis led to Batts' "assaultive or resistive" behavior and “based on my review of the body camera footage and the Medical Examiner’s preliminary findings, I have concluded that the officers involved responded to Mr. Batts’ assaultive and resistive behavior with appropriate force under the circumstances." Knox News requested video footage of Batts in the jail earlier this month, and the sheriff’s office responded last week, saying it expects to release the footage in the coming weeks.