UPDATE: Cop Fired After Choking Photos Goes Viral

Good riddance to bad rubbish! We first reported the incident here, and news broke overnight that a sheriff’s deputy caught on camera choking a Tennessee student into unconsciousness has been fired.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office says they have fired the deputy involved in Saturday night’s block party in Fort Sanders.

Frank Phillips, 47, has been with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office since 1992.

A statement posted on the Sheriff’s Office website reads:

“In my 34 years of law enforcement experience, excessive force has never been tolerated. After an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, I believe excessive force was used in this incident. Therefore, Officer Phillips’ employment with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office is terminated immediately. The investigation will now be turned over to the Knox County Attorney General’s Office to determine any further action.

“This incident provides a perfect example of why we are in the process of purchasing officer worn body cameras (video and audio recordings) so incidents like this will be fully documented.”

By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.