A Hamilton County man has sued the City of Red Bank after a DUI arrest conducted by the city's police department.
John Anthony Murray's $1.5 million lawsuit names the City of Red Bank, former Red Bank police chief Larry Sneed, Red Bank police Officer Tammie Delashmitt and Hamilton County sheriff's Deputy Jim Delashmitt.
Murray's complaint alleges major impropriety against the married Delashmitts and their respective agencies.
No one with the City of Red Bank or the other defendants could be reached immediately for comment.
After Tammie Delashmitt pulled Murray over in Soddy-Daisy - miles outside Red Bank's jurisdiction - she called her husband for assistance, but Jim Delashmitt's supervisor did not give him the go-ahead for a county arrest when he arrived, the complaint states.
Tammie Delashmitt then took Murray to the Red Bank police station and jail for booking, where two Red Bank officers "saw what (she) was doing and told her to stop," according to the lawsuit.
Several magistrates and supervisors declined to approve an arrest warrant for Murray before both Delashmitts "deleted (and) altered" county and city police records to justify the arrest and prosecution, the complaint states.
Based on facts presented to him, Red Bank City Judge Johnny Houston eventually advised the officers to make a citizens' arrest.
"At no time did any member of the City or the County offer or allow Plaintiff any food, water, toilet breaks, or telephone calls while they held him in the City holding cell and trying to figure out how to justify Plaintiff's arrest in order to lodge Plaintiff in the jail," the lawsuit says.
Murray is the third person in the last six weeks to sue Red Bank for $1.5 million in damages.
In July, Sneed sued the city and four officials alleging retaliatory discharge and political conspiracy after he was fired July 2.
On Aug. 5, Officer Bradley Hanon sued Red Bank for "defamation, humiliation and mental anguish" after he said he blew the whistle against alleged improper police work, including the Murray incident.
For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.