A Georgia motorist has settled a claim against the Bradley County Sheriff's Office in a 2017 incident in which Sheriff Eric Watson crossed the state line and jerked him out of his truck at gunpoint.
And Watson's true target during that April 16, 2017, manhunt has filed a $5 million-plus lawsuit against the sheriff and one of his deputies, Eduardo Choate.
Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson speaks at a press conference at the sheriff's office on March 8, 2018.The Times Free Press reported in July 2017 about the Easter Sunday chase of Gary Lipps Jr., who had jumped bail on a bond written by Watson's wife. It was during that hours-long pursuit that the Tennessee sheriff put a gun to the head of Timothy Tallent in Georgia.
Chattanooga attorney John Wolfe represents both men. He said Tuesday the terms and amount of the insurance settlement with Tallent are confidential.
Lipps' lawsuit claims he was trying to surrender when the deputy loosed his K-9 on Watson's orders. The sheriff's department said the dog was set loose only after Lipps refused to come out of hiding, and that he punched and grabbed the animal until deputies subdued him.
The lawsuit, filed in Bradley County Circuit Court, seeks $3 million in actual damages and $3 million in punitive damages for "fright, disfigurement, scarring, pain and suffering" from dog bites during the arrest.
Lipps also asks for $425,000, the maximum allowed, under Tennessee's Governmental Tort Liability Act, saying the defendants may have negligently failed to train the dog or wrongly considered Lipps to be dangerous.
"He was visiting his kids, for goodness' sake" before surrendering to the sheriff on two nonviolent charges: not paying child support and not showing up for court on a drug charge, Wolfe said.
Sheriff's office spokesman James E. Bradford Jr. said Tuesday the office had not seen the lawsuit.
Watson in a statement blasted Wolfe as a "democrat [sic] lawyer from Chattanooga who enjoys injecting himself into Bradley County politics, especially around election time."
He said the sheriff's office began looking for Lipps after a family member expressed concern for his welfare, a statement that is not borne out by radio communications during the manhunt. Watson said Lipps was wanted for felony probation violation, and was to have no bond on the child-support warrant.
"The Bradley County Sheriff's Office feels confident there is no merit from this pending lawsuit and we stand by our deputy's actions." Watson said in the statement.
The suit says Lipps chose the sheriff's wife, a bail bonding agent, to write his bond on the drug charge because his family and the sheriff's family were close.
But on Easter Sunday, the sheriff "dragooned a significant portion of the Bradley County Sheriff's Office to hunt down" Lipps, the lawsuit states. Watson brought his wife and another bonding agent along in his official sheriff's department vehicle, as shown by dash-cam video.
Lipps was exchanging Facebook messages with Sheriff Watson during the manhunt, promising to turn himself in. The suit states he was visiting his children at his ex-wife's house when the search closed in. Lipps told the Times Free Press last year he went there to say goodbye to his children before turning himself in.
The lawsuit says Choate's loosing of the dog, Joker, introduced "deadly force or the potential for serious bodily harm into a context where there was no fleeing felon, or a serious felony in progress."
Lipps required "dozens" of stitches and has permanent disfigurement from the bites, the suit states, and the sheriff's office has refused to pay for his medical treatment as required under state law.
Sheriff Watson didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls said 25 claims or lawsuits have been filed against Watson's administration since Sept. 1, 2014, including Lipps' and Tallent's. Rawls said he got the totals by filing an open records request for documents from the insurance pool for litigation.
"This just verifies what I've said all along, that Eric Watson is the most sued sheriff in Bradley County history, and I have the documents to prove it," Rawls said.
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.
Bradley County Sheriff's Office statement
Sheriff’s office statement from Communications Director James E. Bradford Jr.:The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has NOT seen nor been served with any litigation regarding the lawsuit mentioned in your email. However, below is Sheriff Watson’s official response that we’re asking to be printed in its entirety.“John Wolfe who ran for President of the United States in 2012 is the democrat lawyer from Chattanooga who enjoys injecting himself into Bradley County politics, especially around election time. It’s not surprising that he would file a suit against the hard working employees just 14 days away from the election.Wolfe has filed lawsuits against Cleveland and Bradley County taxpayers forty one (41) times since 2008. Twenty two (22) of these directly against Cleveland or Bradley County government or hard working committed employees.And now, yet another lawsuit is filed in our county by Wolfe, and who should be surprised, its election time in our community? Anyone who thinks their immune from Wolfe’s lawsuits are badly mistaking.The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office feels confident there is no merit from this pending lawsuit and we stand by our deputy’s actions. Our agency’s involvement began after a family member disclosed concern for the welfare of Gary Lipps, who had an active criminal warrant for Felony Violation of Probation, FTA/Attachment for Scheduled 2 & Drug Paraphernalia, and a NO BOND Child Support criminal warrant. Mr. Lipps evaded patrol deputies on foot through wooded areas and swimming across a river.Later in that same day, the same family member notified our agency Gary Lipps was at a residence on Gatlin Rd. which led to our agency performing a criminal warrant attempt. Contact was made with three individuals inside the residence who had been warned earlier in the day about the consequences of harboring a fugitive after Lipps evaded capture.While searching the residence, multiple verbal commands were yelled to express our agency’s presence and that a K-9 would be released to search for anybody hiding inside the residence. After no response, K-9 Deputy Joker was given commands to search the premises which led to the discovery of Lipps hiding inside a back room. Upon discovery, Lipps began to fight the K-9 by punching and grabbing the K-9’s head and neck and would not comply to verbal commands to stop with resistance which resulted in Lipps being physically subdued by deputies.Lipps is well known for his criminal history, who has been arrested approximately (14) times according to our jail management system to include assault charges.”