Lawsuit: Chattanooga officers arrested Black man who reported 14-year-old girl's crash
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WTVC) — A lawsuit alleges that Chattanooga police officers falsely arrested a Black man who had called them to report that a white teenager had crashed into a building.
In May 2021, Michael James, a Hamilton County resident, filed a lawsuit against the City of Chattanooga and several officers, saying they violated his civil rights during an incident that happened last year.
According to the lawsuit, James had been driving in Chattanooga around 4 a.m. on May 6, 2020, when he saw a Nissan SUV "traveling in an erratic and dangerous manner," and that it almost hit his vehicle.
James said there were two people in the SUV, both of them minors, with the driver being a 14-year-old white girl. The lawsuit alleges that at one point the teens 'flipped off' James, and then ran a red light before going off-road and hitting a building.
When officers arrived after he called 911, James - who is African American - said one of the officers pointed a gun at him, and he was handcuffed. James said he and his car were searched without his permission, and that he was tested for intoxication. The lawsuit says he had not consumed any alcohol or drugs.
He says the officers did not do the same for the 14-year-old girl who had crashed the vehicle. She was not arrested or charged, in spite of her not having a license or insurance for the vehicle, the attorneys said.
The lawsuit says the parents of the teens decided not to press charges against James, but police did, charging him with two counts of aggravated assault. The Hamilton County District Attorney's Office says the case against James was dismissed because the alleged victims failed to appear in court, and the case was expunged.
"Officer [Lance] Hughes initiated and pressed criminal charges against Mr. James, the African American male who was driving his own vehicle with valid registration, but Officer Hughes did not initiate or press criminal charges against the 14-year-old white girl who was driving someone else's vehicle without permission," attorneys allege in the lawsuit.
"Officer Hughes treated Mr. James differently because of his race and would not have arrested, jailed and charged a Caucasian under the same circumstances," the lawsuit alleges.
James is suing for a violation of his civil rights, false imprisonment and battery, among other allegations.
Attorneys are calling for a combined $415,000 in damages.
WTVC reached out to the Chattanooga Police Department for comment. They referred WTVC to Chattanooga's city attorney, and WTVC has reached out to her.
CPD spokeswoman Elisa Myzal tells WTVC by the time James had filed a complaint against the officer Lance Hughes, on September 25th of last year, Hughes had already resigned from the department. Myzal says the complaint was closed as non-formalized since Hughes was no longer on the force.
WTVC will let you know if and when we hear back from City Attorney Emily O'Donnell's office.
Depend on us to keep you posted as we learn more.
