A Knoxville man says a routine drive turned into a wrongful DUI arrest because a deputy confused the smell of disinfectant for booze. He has now taken the fight to federal court, claiming a blood test later proved he was stone sober and asking for more than $600,000 in damages.
What the lawsuit says happened on the roadside
According to WVLT, the complaint filed on April 10, 2026, names Knox County and Deputy Jacob Moore as defendants. It says Moore pulled driver Taylor Skinner over on West Emory Road on April 11, 2025, accusing him of crossing a double-yellow line and having a faulty taillight.
The lawsuit claims body camera footage from the stop tells a different story. According to the complaint, the video does not show any problem with the passenger-side taillight, and it does not appear to capture a double-yellow line where Moore was following Skinner’s vehicle. Skinner is asking the court to award him more than $600,000 in damages.
Lysol smell, bodycam audio and a clean blood test
The dispute ramped up, the lawsuit says, when Moore claimed he could smell alcohol. Skinner had just wiped down his car with Lysol wipes, the complaint states, and had an open LaCroix in the cupholder, not an alcoholic drink.
The filing quotes Moore on his body camera saying, “Yeah he’s definitely 49. Well, he’s been drinking at least. Smells like alcohol,” and says another officer on scene countered that impression with, “I smell like Lysol spray,” according to WVLT.
Skinner agreed to a blood draw after the arrest. The lawsuit says the test came back negative for both alcohol and drugs, and prosecutors later dismissed the DUI case.
A snapshot of a bigger Tennessee problem
Skinner’s lawsuit lands in the middle of a broader statewide debate over “sober DUI” arrests. Advocates and reporters have highlighted a growing number of cases where drivers are charged with impaired driving, only to have blood tests show no alcohol or drugs in their system.
Reporting by WSMV4 Investigates found that after revising its data, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified more than 2,500 arrests since 2017 where bloodwork showed no alcohol or drugs. That included 419 such arrests in 2024 alone. In 2025, state lawmakers passed a law that requires the TBI to track and publicly report data on these cases, following questions about training and enforcement practices raised by the investigation.
The legal stakes and what Skinner wants from the court
Skinner’s complaint asks for monetary damages and alleges constitutional violations that are typically brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. That federal law allows people to sue state actors for depriving them of federal rights, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School (LII).
In cases like this, government defendants often invoke qualified immunity, a legal doctrine the Supreme Court discussed in Pearson v. Callahan. Qualified immunity can block money damages unless the plaintiff shows that officials violated clearly established law.
If Skinner can convince a judge that his arrest lacked probable cause, his lawsuit could survive early procedural challenges and move into discovery and possibly a trial.
For now, the federal complaint adds fresh fuel to Tennessee’s ongoing struggle over how to crack down on impaired driving without sweeping up sober motorists along the way. Upcoming court filings will reveal whether Knox County or Deputy Moore moves to dismiss the case or formally respond to Skinner’s allegations in federal court.
