Days after a group of Chattanooga clergy called on Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond to resign, the sheriff said the 38 pastors who signed the letter do not come close to representing the people of Hamilton County.
During a Sunday afternoon news conference, Hammond said he would not resign and that his office is not racist, nor does it target Black people.
The sheriff’s comments came in response to the four-page letter released this weekend by local clergy demanding Hammond’s resignation.
“We do not expect you to heal our nation’s wounds, but you are accountable for your words and decisions as the leader of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office,” the letter reads. “And your recent actions have caused us to lose faith and confidence in your capacity to effectively and justly serve as Hamilton County’s highest law enforcement officer.”
The letter cites three examples of sheriff’s office deputies making headlines for instances of alleged misconduct, including when deputies punched and kicked a handcuffed man in 2018, when deputies conducted an alleged illegal body-cavity search on the side of the road in 2019 and the recently revealed footage of deputies beating a Black man in May.