<br /><br />A former Rockwood police officer at the center of a $1.2 million federal lawsuit for pepper-spraying a 20-year-old college student submitted his resignation a day after the lawsuit was filed, according to records.
• A former Rockwood police officer at the center of a $1.2 million federal lawsuit for pepper-spraying a 20-year-old college student submitted his resignation a day after the lawsuit was filed, according to records.Officer Chris Kennedy claimed he was charged by Xavier Howard while responding to a report of a domestic argument between Howard and his girlfriend at an apartment complex shortly after midnight July 5, 2015.The officer's body camera video — obtained through a public records request by the News Sentinel — shows no such attack.According to the lawsuit, filed last month in U.S. District Court, Howard was arrested and ultimately charged with underage consumption of alcohol after a judicial magistrate refused to approve a domestic assault charge because there was no evidence.As a result of his arrest, the student lost his basketball scholarship at Roane State Community College and was forced to drop out, the lawsuit claims.
• "(Howard) was approaching him and/or was about to approach him with his hands outstretched and ... the use of pepper spray did not constitute excessive force under the circumstances existing in this case," the response states.Kennedy's personnel file — made available this week through an Aug. 8 public records request by the News Sentinel — includes a performance incident report dated July 10 that shows the officer was counseled about his actions by Police Chief Danny Wright and Deputy Chief Bill Stinnett.
• "We discussed with Officer Kennedy the need to verbal(ly) inform a subject of his intent to use force such as chemical spray," the report reads.
• "Among other documentation in Kennedy's file is a report dated April 11, 2015, that notes he was commended by a resident "for his attempts to assist and save a life."
