If the operation of the Silverdale Detention Center has broken down so thoroughly that prisoners there are constantly at risk, and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) can no longer be trusted to investigate controversial law enforcement incidents, then a probe by the United States Department of Justice is warranted.
But we can’t help but notice Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston only called for such a probe Monday – after he received a letter from the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice seeking an investigation.
The Facebook page for the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice indicates the organization was formed in the summer of 2020 after the video of the treatment of a Black suspect in the hands of HCSO officers was released.
A newspaper archives search indicates the clergy group requested a U.S. Justice Department investigation last May.
“We can no longer sit by while the HCSO continues to use excessive force to brutalize the people of Hamilton County and do nothing to protect the civil rights of her citizens,” a letter released at the time by the group said. “We call on [U.S.] Attorney General Merrick Garland to do what no one has been able to do, hold Sheriff Hammond and his officers accountable!”