What? Please calm down. I'VE NEVER SEEN A GUN PULLED. I've not seen There was never A GUN PULLED. THERE WAS NEVER A GUN. Welcome back to the Lackluster Channel. On October 31st of 2021, former Putnham County Deputy Michael Hoover and a neighbor had an argument that resulted in a 911 call. Mr. Hoover's neighbor alleged that she had been assaulted and during the call told dispatch that a firearm might be inside the home, but never suggested that one was used or displayed. Moments later, Deputy Doo arrived on scene, who had previously worked with Mr. Hoover for the Putnham County Sheriff's Office. After Mr. Hoover left the department, he created a traffic control company and had even hired Deputy D to work for him while off duty. However, a lawsuit alleges that Mr. Hoover had stopped assigning Deputy D work hours because his poor reliability and performance. Upon his arrival, Deputy D spoke with Mr. Hoover's wife before entering their garage despite lacking a warrant, exigent circumstances, consent, or any other lawful basis to do so. Deputy D draws his weapon. So, Mr. Hoover keeps his hands raised and even shows the deputy his belt line, indicating that he was unarmed and put his hands back in the air. While his hands were still up, the deputy pushed Mr. Hoover into his house, slamming him against the wall. During the short scuffle, Mr. Mr. Hoover kept his hands down at his side, which is when Deputy D throws a left hook, sucker punching Mr. Hoover, causing multiple facial fractures and other injuries. He then slams Hoover into the wall by his neck with such force that it breaks a hole in the drywall. Deputy D continued to attempt an arrest, though he lacked a lawful reason to do so, during which Mr. Hoover's family asked the deputy what he had done and the scuffle slowed down as the woman who had initially called the police entered the home and told the deputy she had never seen a weapon. Officer, wait. Listen. What has he DONE WRONG? HIT HER in the face. LISTEN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. SIR, LISTEN TO ME. PLEASE, WHAT? Please calm down. I'VE NEVER SEEN A GUN PULLED. I'M NOT. THERE WAS NEVER A GUN HOLD. THERE WAS NEVER A PERSON. WELL, WHEN you're resisting ARRESTING MY HAND, THERE WAS NEVER A GUN INVOLVED. SERGEANT OUTSIDE. OKAY. IN MY FACE. More officers arrive on scene and leave without arresting anyone. But this is where the story gets interesting. The next morning, multiple officers join Deputy D to inform Mr. Hoover that he was being arrested on three charges. assault on a first responder and resisting arrest with respect to deputy due and assault with respect to the original 911 call. The first two affidavit of complaint which were sworn to under oath by deputy due stated quote the defendant refused to comply and began waving his arms and was shoving the afant making bodily contact with him. The defendant also struggled with the afiant and refused to comply while the afiant attempted to place handcuffs on the defendant. The video shows otherwise. Deputy D knowingly lied under oath on the affidavit to have Mr. Hoover arrested and failed to report that he initiated the violence against Mr. Hoover. The lawsuit also alleges that Deputy D had the additional assault warrant regarding his neighbor to be issued by a different officer even though he knew or should have known that the charge lacked probable cause. A few months later, after seeing the video, a prosecutor dismissed the assault on a first responder and resisting arrest charges. And finally, in March of 2022, Deputy D was given remedial training on deescalation and force on force training. The plan claimed that Deputy D conducted a use of force against a subject, but failed to complete the arrest per policy. The sheriff's office seems to be attempting to pass this off as a simple policy violation when it really appears to be a violation of Mr. Hoover's civil rights and Tennessee Code 39-13-101. A person commits assault who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another. The code further explains that if the offense is committed against a law enforcement officer or health care provider acting in the discharge of the provider's duty, then the maximum fine should be $5,000. But for some reason, these codes are never written the other way around, imposing greater punishments to a law enforcement officer who commits the offense of assault against a citizen. In fact, in most cases, state officials are rarely charged, even when evidence is provided. Worse yet is that if civil action is taken against the officer, they will almost always argue a defense of qualified immunity. And if they are denied, the municipality that employs the agent will almost certainly pay the judgment of a lawsuit with taxpayer dollars. Mr. Hoover filed a lawsuit against the deputy and Putnham County for excessive force, malicious prosecution, unlawful search and seizure, and municipal liability by defendant Putnham County. The lawsuit also alleges that because of the baseless arrests, Mr. Hoover and his traffic control company were essentially blackalled by the law enforcement community such that there was a decrease in officers and local governments willing to work with him, resulting in decreased revenues of more than $100,000. I reached out to Mr. Hoover's attorney, Ben Rabin, who told me, "Our complaint alleges that the officers illegally entered Mr. for Hoover's property, assaulted him with unnecessary and excessive force, and then lied about what happened to obtain baseless criminal charges. We believe the video speaks for itself, and will pursue all available relief in court. We're alleging that what the officer swore to under oath on this affidavit is simply not what's in the video. Mr. Hoover's hands are down by his side, and the officer just just punches him. Uh, if that's not a sucker punch, I don't know what is. We asked, but the sheriff's department had no comment. Officer, wait. Listen. What has he done wrong? I look LIKE HE PUT MY GUN ON HER AND HIT HER IN THE FACE. SIR, LISTEN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. WHAT'S GOING ON? YOU RAISING HAIR. SIR, LISTEN TO ME. PLEASE TALK. WHAT? Please calm down. I've never seen a gun pulled. I've not SEEN THERE WAS NEVER A gun pulled. THERE WAS NEVER A GUN. REACTED. WELL, WHEN YOU'RE resisting arresting PEOPLE outside Okay. IN MY FACE. The officer had worked for Mr. Hoover's company and Mr. Hoover had actually stopped hiring this officer for jobs due to his work performance. The lawsuit makes that connection, but does not claim it's the motive. Thanks for watching. If you have a video, use the submit link in the description or pinned comment. If you enjoyed this one, subscribe and hit the bell for future content. And check out our other channels, Lady Lackluster and The Odd Side. Remember to like, share, and leave a comment about what you think of this interaction. 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