An off-duty police officer in Knoxville, Tennessee, was knocked unconscious for making a racist joke, WVLT reports.
At a wedding on June 26, Tanner Holt, an officer with the Knoxville Police Department, was knocked out after telling Jonathan Toney that he “didn’t know they let Black people in the reception hall.”
Holt later told Toney that he was “part of the Black community,” the report read. Toney stated that he repeatedly told Holt to refrain from using racist language numerous times during the wedding but he refused.
Tanner Holt a police officer from TN was knocked unconscious while attending a wedding after making racist remarks to one of the black guest.
He was off duty at the time…. pic.twitter.com/JLZhGpm6aM— ???? Lovely ???? (@SweetPea1636) July 9, 2021
He added that he “couldn’t take it anymore” and punched Holt in the face with a single blow before the officer fell to the ground unconscious. After the altercation, Holt was transported to the hospital.
Two eyewitnesses corroborated Toney’s account of the events. A third eyewitness stated that she saw the assault occur but did not hear what Holt said to Toney. All the witnesses, however, stated that Holt was intoxicated during the altercation.
Last month, Chief Eve Thomas spoke about the department's reputation for racism and how they plan to address it, the Knox News reported.
“I think if we have that perception in the department, we do have a problem. So that's what we're working on fixing,” Thomas said. “I want those officers to feel comfortable enough, I would love for them to feel comfortable to come to me.”
“But we have these other avenues as well for them to come forward and so that's what we keep, we keep making sure that they're aware of,” she added.
Because of the incident, Holt has been reassigned to patrol duty in the West District, but, “a decision will be made regarding his assignment/status when he is cleared to return while IAU investigation is ongoing.”
At the moment, it is unclear when Holt will be medically cleared to return to duty.
The internal affairs of the KPD are currently conducting an investigation into the incident. No one has been arrested and no charges have been filed, the police told WVLT.
