Attorneys have agreed to mediate in an alleged police brutality lawsuit brought earlier this year by a 37-year-old man who was punched and cursed at during a traffic stop in 2018.
In a June 7 order, U.S. District Court Judge Harry “Sandy” Mattice ordered attorneys for Fredrico Wolfe and attorneys for the city of Chattanooga, officer Benjamin Piazza and his colleagues to begin mediating in good faith. If mediation is successful, attorneys likely will come up with a monetary settlement for Wolfe.
“In the event mediation is not successful, the parties are expected to prepare for trial on the scheduled trial date” of July 28, 2020, Mattice wrote in his order.
The mediation order comes roughly three months after Wolfe filed a lawsuit in connection with a March 2018 stop on Lee Highway around 3:30 a.m. Wolfe and his attorney, Robin Flores, alleged that Piazza used excessive force during the stop and drafted a “false use of report” that his supervisors approved in order to cover up the incident. Flores added that three other on-scene officers did not stop Piazza or report the incident. Piazza also brought several now-dismissed criminal charges against Wolfe and has been investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for possible assault and official misconduct since the Times Free Press published police footage of the incident in January.
TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said Friday that the investigation has been turned over to Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston for review. Pinkston’s office declined to comment Friday on when he’ll complete that review or whether there will be criminal charges. After the incident, Piazza was placed on administrative leave. The department later allowed him to return to desk duty and take phone complaints from citizens.