Chattanooga City Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod has issued a public apology for her actions during a traffic stop in Junein which she asked officers to call then-police Chief Fred Fletcher to the scene.
“I would like to address this to my family, constituents, fellow council members, Chattanooga police department and the public at large,” she wrote. “I sincerely want to apologize for my behavior during my traffic stop last June.”
Coonrod was riding in the passenger seat of a car that was pulled over on June 24 for having an expired registration. The man who was driving, Anthony Gladden, did not have a driver’s license and there was no physical proof of insurance in the car.
The officer cited Gladden and told Coonrod she would need to take over the wheel, but as she was walking around to the driver’s side she asked for the names of the officers and said she was going to call Fletcher. She then asked the officer to call Fletcher, but the officer said she could not.
Her actions were later condemned by Fletcher, who said, “I am certain newly elected [Councilwoman] Coonrod appreciates now that it is inappropriate to attempt to skip six levels of supervision/command and how this made an officer’s difficult job even more difficult.”