Despite having initially tabled discussions to form a police oversight board, Chattanooga City Council members voted Tuesday to advance the ordinance.
Councilman Russell Gilbert first asked to “put [the vote] off” for one week during Tuesday’s 3 p.m. agenda session but later “changed [his] mind” by the time the 6 p.m. council meeting took place.
COMMEMORATIVE STREET NAMING
The Chattanooga City Council voted to approve a resolution to designate a secondary name to a section of Hamill Road in honor of fallen Chattanooga police Officer Nicholas Galinger.The section between North Crescent Club Drive and Cassandra Smith Road will now be known as “Officer Nicholas Galinger Road.”“It’s with great respect for one of our fallen heroes that we honor Officer Nicholas Galinger tonight by commemorative street naming,” Councilman Chip Henderson said just before the vote.
The board, called the Police Advisory and Review Committee, is supposed to be a civilian investigative entity to review cases of police misconduct. It was approved by majority vote with one abstention and Councilman Ken Smith was not present.
The city council began discussing the formation of an oversight board earlier this year after a series of allegations of police brutality and misconduct, including rape, sexual battery and the filmed beating of a 37-year-old man during an arrest in March 2018.
Since its first draft, the ordinance has undergone several revisions, and police Chief David Roddy didn’t have the latest one at last week’s strategic planning session. That caused some council members to initially think the vote might be delayed.
While community activists have long been pushing for an oversight board, some don’t agree with how this one is being created and have called it an “undemocratic process” because it lacks community input and is heavily based on law enforcement input.
But city council members have said they want the police department on board with the proposed committee to ensure current police policies and legal requirements are met. (A bill – House Bill 658 and Senate Bill 1407 – to regulate police oversight boards statewide and limit their power is now on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for signing.)
Jared Story with Concerned Citizens for Justice addressed the city council last week, saying the organization sent a letter to the council asking members to defer to a community-led process. He said he and others have spoken at council meetings but they’ve “been ignored or shut down.”
After Tuesday’s council meeting, Gilbert said he thinks there is community input because the council represents the community.
Nathan King, another Concerned Citizens for Justice member, attempted to address the council again on Tuesday about the oversight board.
But council Chairman Erskine Oglesby stopped him mid-sentence.
“I’m sorry, sir. But this item was on the agenda and citizens are not allowed to speak on [agenda] items,” he said.
“So, we would not be able to say how this administrative review board is going to be ineffective and not have accountability for the police department?” King asked.
“Not today,” Oglesby responded.
It won’t be next week, either, because the ordinance is again on the agenda for a second read. (Ordinances are to be read and voted on twice before they are enacted.) Then, council members will begin recruiting people to sit on the board.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.