Knox County residents speak on McAlister’s incident, push for sheriff’s office oversight board continues

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Monday evening, the Knox County Commission held an open forum, during which residents spoke on some controversial issues. Some attendees voiced their opinions on an upcoming drag performance at the Tennessee and others spoke on a debacle involving the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office has been in hot water ever since Kimberly Glenn, an employee of the office, commented on a situation involving deputies on her personal Facebook page.

Glenn said that three deputies had been denied service while eating at the McAlister’s on Shaad Road. She has since deleted the post.

Aniyah Thompson, the sister of Anthony Thompson Jr., an armed Austin-East Magnet High School student who was killed by police in the school’s bathroom, was the employee at the center of the controversy. She spoke at the commission meeting, sharing her side of the story after Glenn accused her of refusing to serve the deputies- a move that cost the 15-year-old her job.

“It just so happened the next person in line was someone with a badge. Before I walked away I made sure those customers were taken care of which they took offense to that,” Aniyah Thompson said. “If I was anything but a brown girl would this have happened? Was I target because of who my brother is?”

She added that she was not trying to offend the deputies. She said she had another employee help them because her shift was ending. Now, others are calling for a body to keep the sheriff’s office in check by establishing an oversight board.

Since the topic came up during public forum, no decision was made on the oversight board.

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