HARRIMAN — Cecil Baptiste died on May 18 in Harriman, Tennessee, ten days after being assaulted during a fight at a shopping center on South Roane Street on May 8. Harriman Police responded to the scene and found Baptiste unconscious, with bystanders performing CPR on him.
According to Harriman Police Department officers, witnesses reported that Allen Wayne Copley, 50, placed Baptiste in a chokehold while Charles Sargent, 48, punched him. Both men were arrested and charged with aggravated assault. "We charged two people with aggravated assault that had pulled a man away from the vehicle and had him on the ground and had assaulted him," Harriman Police Chief Baron Tapp said.
After the assault, Baptiste was transported to Roane Medical Center and then flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center due to possible brain damage from lack of oxygen. An affidavit report noted that his face was blue at the scene. He died ten days later.
An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death and whether charges can be upgraded. "The men are scheduled to be in court on the 16th of June, and depending on that preliminary plus the autopsy coming back, more charges could be pending coming up at a later grand jury," Tapp said.
A preliminary hearing for Sargent and Copley is set for June 16. Investigators have identified a third person of interest, but no charges have been filed against that individual.