Two Grundy County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Officers Charged With Federal Civil Rights Offenses

Chief Deputy Anthony “Tony” Bean, 59, and Sergeant Anthony “T.J.” Bean, 29, of the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office were indicted today by a federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for using excessive force against arrestees, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee J. Douglas Overbey, and FBI-Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Troy A. Sowers.

For an incident involving an arrestee identified by the initials F.M., the indictment charges Deputy Chief Tony Bean and Deputy T.J. Bean with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.  The indictment alleges that the defendants, while serving with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, used unreasonable force when they assaulted and injured arrestee F.M. in December 2017.

The indictment additionally charges Tony Bean with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 for an incident involving arrestee C.G.  The indictment alleges that, while serving as Chief of Police with the Tracy City Police Department, Tony Bean used unreasonable force when he assaulted and injured arrestee C.G. in August 2014.

Each of the counts charging a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242 carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment.  An indictment is merely an accusation and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Knoxville Division of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Rebekah J. Bailey and Kathryn E. Gilbert of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney Perry H. Piper of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.