A Tennessee man who died of breathing difficulties was told he was “a stupid b*****d” by police officers who restrained him, recent footage shows.
On Thursday, NewsChannel5 obtained footage from May 2020 of Lewisberg officers restraining 48-year-old William Jennette, a father of five.
Officers from a jail in Marshall County forced Jennette to the floor for refusing to get into a restraining chair, calling for back-up.
According to NewsChannel5, after telling offers he was unable to breath, Jennette was told by a female Lewisberg officer: "You shouldn't be able to breathe, you stupid b*****d”.
Another officer added, in reference to to the risk of suffocating Jennette, "Easy, easy — remember asphyxiation, guys".
In his final moment, according to jail footage, Jennette told an officer “I’m good”, but the officer told him: "No, you ain't good. You're going to lay right there for a f*****g minute.”
Jennette was arrested two days before for public intoxication and indecent exposure.
An autopsy, according to official records, found that his cause of death was “acute combined drug intoxication” caused by meth — in addition to "asphyxia" as a "contributory cause of death.”
His daughter, Dominique Jennette, told NewsChannel5 that her family were filing a lawsuit against the city of Lewsiberg, Tennessee, for the "beating, suffocation and resultant death” of her father.
“It just feels like my heart is constantly being ripped out of my chest, and there's no peace to that," she added.
The Independent has reached out to the Lewisberg Police Department for comment.
