Leitchfield police officer indicted after body camera video shows bloody confrontation

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A Leitchfield police officer accused of assaulting a man and his adult son while responding to a house fire pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday.

Sgt. D.J. Newton faces misdemeanor charges of assault, terroristic threatening, menacing and criminal trespassing following a June 9 incident on Rison Drive, where police and emergency responders were called to a house fire.

Body camera footage obtained by WDRB News through an open records request captures the chaotic interaction. The resident, Lannie Fentress, claimed a lithium battery explosion started the fire, and he was attempting to extinguish it when officers arrived.

Officers ordered Fentress and his son, Daron, to leave the smoke-filled house for safety reasons, but the pair resisted. The footage shows escalating tensions.

"I'm not going to let my f****** house burn," Fentress said. "No, get your hands off me. No, there's hundreds of thousands of ..."

He didn't finish that sentence.

"Listen here, you're getting ready to go to f****** jail," an officer replied.

You hear an officer say, "Get out now — taser, taser, taser."

Fentress: "Dude come on. I've got to save my house."

Officer: "Get on the f***** ground now."

Fentress: "Touch him, I'm going f****** going to kill you, you son a b****. This ain't nothing criminal here. Get the f*** out of here."

Police said Officer Justin Cockerel tased Daron Fentress.

Officer: "You're going to jail for assault 3rd, and so is he."

Fentress: "How the f**** did I assault an officer?"

Newton: "Because you touched a f****** police officer, that's why."

Lannie was holding a garden hose and police say Newton said "Do it mother f*****. Do it."

"You think calling me a mother f***** in my home?" Fentress said. "I'm not getting on the f****** ground."

Police allege Fentress, holding a garden hose, swung at officers. In the police citation, Newton said when Fentress drew his fist back with the water hose balled up in his hand and threw the hose at him, Newton tased him.

Body camera footage captures the sound of the taser being deployed and the ensuing commotion.

"Put your hands behind your back now," an officer shouted.

"You're going to pay for this," Fentress replied.

Police said a Grayson County sheriff's deputy also tased Fentress.

"It did not have to go this way," an officer said. "All you had to do was f***** listen."

As Newton walks Fentress to an ambulance, there are visible taser probes in his chest and stomach, and his face was bloody.

Fentress: "I was trying to put out my own f****** fire."

Newton: "You also threatened to kill me, sir."

Fentress: "No, I did not."

Both Fentress and his son were arrested and charged with assault, menacing and wanton endangerment of a police officer. Those charges were later dropped.

A Grayson County grand jury indicted Newton, who has since been placed on unpaid leave. Cockerel is not facing charges, and an internal investigation is ongoing.

"The body cam speaks for itself," Fentress said.

Newton's bond was set at $500, and a special prosecutor and special judge are being requested for this case. He declined an on-camera interview for this story, but his attorney, Thomas Clay, released a statement:

"I am very troubled by some aspects of this case. The District Court had a full-blown preliminary hearing on the charges against the two individuals who were arrested. The District Court found probable cause and referred the cases to the grand jury. Somehow, the grand jury reversed the District Court’s finding and indicted Sergeant Newton on misdemeanor charges. This action is unprecedented in my experience. The charges were not based solely on the testimony of the police; there is body cam footage which supports the charges. Apparently, the grand jury did not see the body cam footage or chose to ignore it. We have requested production of the grand jury testimony."

The Leitchfield Police Department said Newton was hired in 2019 and Cockerel was hired in 2023.