“I didn’t know they let Black people into the reception.”
That was one of the statements a Knoxville police officer allegedly said before being knocked unconscious at a wedding reception he was attending.
Tanner Holt, a 22-year-old white man, was reported by witnesses to have been heavily intoxicated when he made the comment and those that followed.
Jonathan Toney, a Black man who was also in attendance at the reception, took exception to Holt’s racist remarks to him. According to Toney and other witnesses, Holt responded to Toney’s requests that he stop by saying he was “part of the Black community.”
That’s when Toney allegedly knocked Holt unconscious with a single punch to the face.
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Knoxville police responded to the incident but no arrests were made and no charges were filed. KPD is now conducting an internal investigation, according to WVLT.
Holt was taken to the hospital, according to the police report, and KPD officials say Holt has been out of work while recovering from “serious injuries” stemming from the altercation.