Naked on the Strip: Man arrested after nude romp

UPDATE: Andrew Mark Morris, 23, has been charged in connection with the incident.

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Knoxville police arrested a man Wednesday after witnesses say he threw personal belongings from the balcony of his apartment complex, pulled the fire alarm and paraded naked up and down Cumberland Avenue.

Around 6:45 p.m., officers responded to Evolve Apartments on Cumberland Avenue to reports of a disturbance and indecent exposure, according to E-911 records.

Derek Strickland said he was looking for a bite to eat when he saw a man tossing items from a "fourth or fifth floor" balcony of Evolve onto the Zaxby's parking lot next door.

A reporter later observed chairs, clothes, DVDs, a laptop, a speaker and a bong scattered on the ground there.

The man then "pulled the fire alarm and started streaking," Strickland said.

Jeremy Bagwell and Steve Pittman — two contractors in town to work on signage for FedEx's new office right under Evolve — had just finished working for the day and were standing outside when they heard the alarm.

"I figured we'd start to see people," Bagwell said. "A couple people came out, and then the next thing you know, that's when the naked guy came running out, walked across and went that way." 

Bagwell gestured toward Panera Bread.

"He started doing snow angels on the sidewalk."

As the first officer arrived, the man walked across the street to Stefanos Pizza, where he ripped down a sign. He then pranced past the Shell gas station despite the officer ordering him to stop, Bagwell said.

Bagwell said he saw a "backup cop running full speed" toward the man. The first cop used a taser on the man, and the second tackled him to the ground in the middle of the street, he said.

"When they tased him, he didn't go down," Pittman added. "He was dancing."

The man was loaded into an ambulance at the Shell station and taken away.

A Knoxville Police Department spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.