KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Knox County Commission voted against a resolution to subpoena the deputies involved in the November 2022 McAlister incident that ended with an employee being fired.

Aniya Thompson was fired as a cashier at the McAlister on Schaad Road after a social media post was made by Knox County Sheriff’s Office claiming that she refused service to a few deputies. Commenters were outraged and the story quickly went viral within the Knoxville community.

Nine commissioners voted “no” to subpoena the deputies. As they were voting, some public members who did not agree with the commissioners’ decisions demanded that the members say their “no” louder for the public.

Commissioner Dasha Lundy and Commissioner Courtney Durrett voted “yes” to the resolution. The vote ended with a 9-2 which led to the resolution failing in the county commission.

Before the vote, Lundy read an alleged text message from Knox County Sheriff Chief Tom Spangler that stated when the KCSO statement was made, there was “no mention of a name, age or anything to say who the individual was until the mother posted what [Aniya] did” and “the department would not be speaking on the incident any further.”

“I’m just asking for a testimony, that’s all I’m asking for,” Lundy said. “I’m trying to be fair. [Aniya] said her side.”

Lundy has been advocating for Thompson and sponsored the resolution that will require the deputies and Spangler to appear before the commission to swear in their testimonies.

Thompson appeared in the commission meeting on December 2022 to make her statement about the incident. According to Thompson, she was done with the end of her shift and asked a co-worker to take the deputies’ orders.

“I do not apologize for doing my job and handling a situation with decorum and professionalism which these officers did not do. Since then I have lost my first job and then was forced to watch my name and character be drug through the mud via social media because of Kimberly Glenn, a communications director for the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, who failed to do her job accurately and has still yet to face the consequences of her actions,” Thompson said during the 2022 meeting.

Thompson has also been revealed as the sister of Anthony Thompson Jr.,  who was shot and killed by a Knoxville police officer inside a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School.

In January, Lundy said she reached out to Spangler requesting that the deputies attend the commission meeting. However, Spangler sent an email back stating that his “officers nor any other Knox County Sheriff’s Office representatives will be attending.”

“I have to use subpoena rights to support a 15-year-old girl,” Lundy said. “I’m going to go ahead and put this out there, she does not live in my district. We have adults that basically blasted her on social media which caused her to lose her job.”

Lundy added she does not hate anyone from KCSO, she wanted to support the kids of Knox County.