KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – A retired senior FBI executive is suing the City of Knoxville and a Knoxville Police Department officer, marking the latest in a string of East Tennessee litigation stemming from sober DUI charges.
The case centers on Allison Tsiumis and Officer Christian Ferraras, who charged her with driving under the influence on June 15, 2025. According to the lawsuit, Tsiumis was driving to West Town Mall from her home in Lenoir City when she was involved in a minor crash, which prompted Ferraras’ response.
The first issue the lawsuit raises the amount of time Ferraras spent interviewing Tsiumis and the other driver involved in the crash.
“Defendant Ferreras did not conduct a complete investigation of the collision during the sixty seconds he questioned the drivers and inspected the vehicles,” the lawsuit says.
Ferreras’ next step was to have Tsiumis perform field sobriety tests, a method of investigation experts have called into question in the past. The lawsuit also has a problem with how the officer administered the tests.
The Knoxville officer’s testing job “contained several procedural errors, including starting passes on the wrong eye, inconsistent timing, failing to hold the stimulus for the required four seconds, skipping the 45-degree onset check, giving incomplete instructions, and using a pen light that switched on and off intermittently,” the lawsuit says. It adds that Tsiumis tried to explain the problems, but Ferreras didn’t listen.
Ultimately, the lawsuit says Tsiumis was taken into custody and booked into jail. There, she accuses jail staff of forcing her to change her clothes — including undergarments — and wear previously-issued clothing. The lawsuit also says Tsiumis was kept in custody until around 2:30 a.m. the next day, even though she was told she’d be receiving a bond hearing by wither 8 p.m. or midnight. According to the lawsuit, she spent that time in a cell she shared with another female inmate.
Tsiumis’ troubles didn’t stop after her release, however. According to the lawsuit, she was required to use an ignition interlock device on her car. When functional, ignition interlocks keep cars from functioning unless the driver tests under the legal limit. That said, the lawsuit says Tsiumis’s did not work correctly.
“During her pretrial release, the Intoxalock device malfunctioned and deactivated her vehicle’s engine, stranding her at a busy intersection, which endangered her and other motorists, and required police assistance to re-route traffic around her disabled vehicle,” the lawsuit says.
In December, the lawsuit says, her charges were dismissed.
The lawsuit breaks down Tsiumis’ professional background, pointing to her experience in law enforcement. According to the suit, the woman spent 33 years working for the FBI. Her tenure included working as an intelligence analyst with top secret clearance and six years spent as a senior executive.
Tsiumis’ lawsuit comes after similar lawsuits filed recently against the Knox County and Hawkins County law enforcement.
