Donna Dillon says she was handcuffed in front of her 17-year-old son during a June 2025 arrest that she now says was done for TV, not justice. She has sued Knox County and its sheriff’s department, tying the arrest to On Patrol: Live and to claims that deputies used excessive force.
June 2025 Arrest
According to attorneys for Dillon, the arrest came on a three-year misdemeanor charge that has since been dropped. She said she was first told she was being arrested on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge, then an officer said the matter was actually a 2022 warrant for misdemeanor assault against a former neighbor who chose not to pursue the case.
Dillon said the scene escalated quickly. She described deputies as harsh and said, “They were so ugly to me.” She also said, “They came in on my neighborhood like I had killed someone.”
On Patrol: Live Filming
The arrest was filmed and publicized for the REELZ-based show On Patrol: Live, and that is the core of the lawsuit. Dillon said, “It was so obvious that it was just for fame. It wasn’t for justice.”
She said she was later placed in a patrol vehicle and left alone for hours on end, after which she developed persistent pain in an injured shoulder. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for alleged violations of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Knox County Sheriff’s Department
About a week before Dillon filed the lawsuit, the Knox County Sheriff’s Department said it would no longer participate in On Patrol: Live. The department had previously described the collaboration as a way to share “a glimpse into the commitment and sacrifice of the men and women who proudly serve this community while acting with professionalism, compassion, and dedication.”
After the arrest, the department told Dillon that the deputy who left her unattended in the patrol vehicle had been suspended for three days for keeping her confined in the van for an extended time. That leaves the case focused on a narrow but serious issue: whether a law enforcement arrest was handled as television content, and what proof Dillon will put forward to support that claim.
