Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston
Judge Barry SteelmanBased on the results of “gang injunctions” in other cities nationwide, some Chattanooga defense attorneys want more time to study a similar proposal here that pits people’s personal freedom against increased community security.
The “safety zone” proposal crafted by District Attorney General Neal Pinkston would ban 31 men named as members of the Gangster Disciples and Grape Street Crips from associating with each other in East Lake.
Pinkston filed the petition for injunction last week to much fanfare and criticism. He’s asking Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman to approve it during a 1:30 p.m. hearing today. The court order would restrict specific behaviors from the targeted men, and the DA says it would give law enforcement a tool to make East Lake safer.
Some defense attorneys, though, object they’ve been blindsided, given only a week to look at a controversial proposal Pinkston and police have worked on since April. They say the injunction would violate people’s constitutional right to freedom of association, and that similar actions in other cities have been used largely against black men who didn’t have a chance to defend themselves in court.
The 31-page petition would essentially make the Gangster Disciples and Grape Street Crips a public nuisance, banning them from a nearly two-mile, high-crime region of East Chattanooga. All but one man is black, mugshots and records show.