The Hamilton County Commission is under fire for cutting off public comments at a Wednesday meeting as citizens called for prison and sheriff department reform and budget cuts.
In a similar but smaller scale demonstration as Tuesday’s 7.5-hour Chattanooga City Council meeting, county commissioners heard from many of the same speakers who called for divestment from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, ending of private prisons and other local criminal justice reform.
Many of those who addressed the commission were taking part in the 12th day of activism spurred by the May 25 death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
Commission Chairman Randy Fairbanks ended the meeting after a little less than an hour of public comments on the issue, with at least three callers still waiting for their opportunity to speak.
Commissioner Warren Mackey – who headed a statement by local black elected officials condemning the killing of Floyd and promising action last week- told Fairbanks he was “absolutely loving the comments from the people calling in,” and encouraged the commission to heed the voices of constituents.