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Retired Franklin County Deputy Dean Binkley is suing a Tennessee state trooper on grounds he was “willfully and maliciously”’ arrested and prosecuted for a DUI after providing proof he was instead suffering from a diabetic issue at the time.

The lawsuit was recently filed in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga against Trooper Ryan Nichols. Binkley does not specify a cash amount but is requesting “appropriate monetary damages” to compensate him for “damage to his reputation, pain and suffering, humiliation and embarrassment and emotional harm.” He is also requesting that he be compensated for his attorney fees.

The lawsuit says Binkley was arrested on Aug. 7, 2024, while he was traveling southwest on the Highway 64 connector from Pelham to Decherd.

The suit says Binkley’s blood-sugar level had dropped exceedingly low, and he had begun to slowly swerve back and forth across the highway dividing line, ultimately leaving the road with the sport-utility vehicle he was driving coming to rest on the right-hand side of the highway in the service lane.

The lawsuit says Nichols arrived at the scene and found Binkley in a diabetic stupor, and Nichols provided Binkley with a piece of candy from Binkley’s vehicle to increase his blood-sugar level.

The lawsuit says that emergency medical technicians who arrived at the scene advised Nichols that Binkley was suffering from a diabetic issue.

The lawsuit says no open containers were found inside Binkley’s vehicle, and a body-camera video from a deputy sheriff recorded Nichols stating that from his training, Binkley portrayed a classic example of driving under the influence.

“Defendant Nichols insisted on pursuing a DUI arrest,” the lawsuit says.

It says that Binkley was transported to a local hospital where blood was drawn to determine whether he was under the influence.

“Defendant Nichols willfully and maliciously pursued a DUI prosecution of plaintiff Binkley even after being advised by EMTs of the diabetic state the plaintiff was in,” the lawsuit says.

It says that Binkley was taken from the hospital to the Franklin County Jail, where he was arrested, booked and made bond.

The lawsuit says the charges against Binkley were dismissed.

The lawsuit says that Binkley had a weapon in his vehicle that was seized. It says that Binkley had to travel to the Tennessee Highway Patrol office in Chattanooga to retrieve the weapon.

The lawsuit says that Binkley had attempted to purchase a firearm eight months after the incident had occurred and the charges were dismissed. It adds that Binkley was “denied his Second Amendment rights and was told by TBI that this was a result of him being arrested with a weapon.”

The lawsuit says that Nichols’ actions were a clear violation of Binkley’s rights, and the diabetic issue qualifies Binkley as an “American with a disability.”