Wednesday, July 02, 2008

TBI investigating officer accused of choking man

MOUNT JULIET, Tenn.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating a traffic stop involving a Mt. Juliet police officer accused of performing "vascular restraint" on a man suspected of trying to swallow drugs.

Jason Holleman, a lawyer for the city, said Thursday the TBI is looking into the April 4 incident in which Cpl. William Cosby stopped a vehicle driven by James Lawrence Anders Jr.

Interim Mt. Juliet police chief James Hambrick said Cosby performed "vascular restraint" on Anders when he suspected he was going to swallow drugs, and that Anders temporarily blacked out.

WTVF-TV in Nashville reports the incident was caught on Cosby's patrol car video camera and shows him putting his hands around Anders' neck and applying pressure before he loses consciousness.

Anders was charged with possessing marijuana, resisting arrest and tampering with evidence. But his attorney said the charges were dropped last week by a local judge at the request of the state attorney general.

Hambrick said Cosby was still on the job and given a written reprimand for the incident.

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