Police Chief Freeman Cooper and Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield took the stand today in the age discrimination lawsuit filed by two former deputy police chiefs.
In response to Wednesday’s testimony that former deputy police chiefs Skip Vaughn and Charles Cooke received “outstanding” marks on previous work evaluations, Chief Cooper said “the form itself is flawed.”
“We’ve been working to find a form that is better suited for sworn officers,” Chief Cooper said.
He indicated that a poor evaluation might hurt an officer’s chance of future employment, so supervisors typically make positive comments.
He and Mr. Littlefield both testified that the decision to reorganize the police department, eliminating Mr. Vaughn’s and Mr. Cooke’s deputy chief positions and replace them with three assistant chiefs, was purely budgetary.