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Chattanooga City Council sees need for stronger accountability in considering creation of police oversight committee

Police Chief David Roddy, center, speaks amongst councilors seated at a conference table during a City Council work session at the Chattanooga City Council building on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Chief Roddy explained the departments policies for officer discipline and answered questions from councilors after a video depicting an officer punching a suspect was released earlier this month.
Police Chief David Roddy, center, speaks amongst councilors seated at a conference table during a City Council work session at the Chattanooga City Council building on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Chief Roddy explained the departments policies for officer discipline and answered questions from councilors after a video depicting an officer punching a suspect was released earlier this month.

By Rosana Hughes 5 min read

Citing a need for stronger police accountability, Chattanooga City Council members are weighing options to create an oversight committee.

The council’s discussion comes after recent allegations of police misconduct and as Tennessee Republican lawmakers push a bill to strip police oversight boards statewide of their subpoena power and add more regulations to their operation.

Council members said on Tuesday that, while the legislation will affect a police oversight committee’s power and certain operations, they don’t want to wait for lawmakers before they decide on the structure and membership of the committee.

“There are several ways to meet this need without worrying about the Tennessee Legislature,” Councilwoman Carol Berz said.

The Chattanooga Police Department already has a review committee – made of up three community members, three police department employees and an assistant chief – that reviews the results of internal investigations into alleged wrongdoing by officers and submits an opinion to the chief of police. Ultimately, though, the final disciplinary decision lies with the chief.