Chattanooga City Council member calls for officer in bodycam video to be charged
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — UPDATE:
The man seen beaten in video of a March 2018 Chattanooga traffic stop has now had his charges dropped, his attorney confirmed Wednesday.
The Chattanooga chapter of the NAACP held a rally and march this morning, calling for officers who commit police brutality to be held accountable.
Watch our livestream of the event below:
The office of District Attorney General Neal Pinkston's office says they have asked the TBI to investigate video of a Chattanooga police officer beating a man at a traffic stop in March 2018.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
PREVIOUSLY:
The Chattanooga City Council is calling for Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston to consider charging a Chattanooga police officer who was caught on video beating a man at a traffic stop.
The Chattanooga Police Department gave NewsChannel 9 the video that shows the incident, which happened back in March.
The video shows the officer trying to get a driver to get out of a car with his weapon drawn. The video also shows that same officer later punching the driver several times.
Fredrico Emanuel Wolfe was ultimately charged after the March 10th, 2018 incident with resisting arrest, as well as tampering with evidence, driving under the influence, speeding and possession of drugs, among other charges.
"This is not a resisting arrest scenario," Wolfe's attorney Robin Flores told NewsChannel 9 last week. "You have a young man who appears just from their own videos to be completely compliant."
Councilman Russell Gilbert called for an independent investigation at last night's meeting.
The discussion of the matter begins in the below video at about 14 minutes and 30 seconds:
Gilbert said, "I have concerns about the timeline, because my understanding is that someone had to see this in that department. Someone had to see it, because for the DA to get it, and for the lawyer to get it, someone had to pass it off from our side to them. So, someone did see this prior to now.”
Gilbert says he is asking Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston for an independent investigation.
Gilbert later said, "We need to look at things and policies now that give someone – think someone, think he has the power to do the things that he did to that young man. No one should have that much power. We have some great policemen – 95 percent are great, but that 5 percent need to go. They need to be terminated, and they need to leave, because we don’t need that in Chattanooga. We’re trying to grow in this city and not have this negativity. So, I’m asking my colleagues to start looking at these things, and hopefully make a change in it.”
Mayor Andy Berke told NewsChannel 9 he saw it for the first time.. on the news.
Attorney Flores says they will be fighting the resisting arrest charges in criminal court, and plan to file a civil lawsuit for the use of excessive force sometime in the next few weeks.
Depend on NewsChannel 9 to keep you posted on this case.
