Officer charged with assault gets year's probation

A Chattanooga police officer has learned he will receive probation after a January incident in which he was accused of assaulting a 13-year-old boy.

During the 21/2-hour hearing Friday in Hamilton County General Sessions Court, Judge Bob Moon said that, while Officer Sean O'Brien had a "belligerent" child on his hands, he could not dismiss the simple assault case outright.

There were "no exigent circumstances," Judge Moon said, that would have justified Officer O'Brien's alleged hitting of the teen on Jan. 23 after arresting him on trespassing charges and taking him to the county Juvenile Detention Center.

Charged with simple assault, Officer O'Brien ultimately could have ended up going to trial in the case. Judge Moon's judicial diversion ruling means the officer will not have to admit guilt and his record will be wiped clean after a year-long probationary period, provided he engages in no more illegal behavior.

But Judge Moon also did not take pity on the juvenile, who lied on the witness stand about his criminal record and who, on the night of his arrest, was observed constantly shouting obscenities at Officer O'Brien and inciting bad behavior in other detainees, according to the testimony of more than one officer who was present at the detention center.

"I fear for your future," Judge Moon told the juvenile, noting the teen already had been convicted of theft as a 12-year-old for stealing a Vespa scooter last summer in North Chattanooga.

"I'm afraid you're either on the way to the morgue or the penitentiary," Judge Moon continued.

Looking at the child's mother, he said, "Mom, I think you know that."

The boy's grandmother, also present at the hearing, could be seen either laughing or smirking throughout the entire hearing.

At the detention center, a videocamera recorded the alleged assault. On Friday, two officers testified that they could not tell from the video whether Officer O'Brien actually hit the boy, who was handcuffed the entire time and did not receive any injuries.

Officer O'Brien is on administrative leave pending a resolution in the case. It was not immediately known Friday whether the Chattanooga Police Department will allow him to go on active duty again.

Defense attorney Lee Davis argued at the hearing that the incident at most "was not criminal and should have been dealt with at the administrative level."