Meetings with the Chattanooga Fraternal Order of Police have caused friction between 2021 mayoral candidates, raising questions about bias toward candidates and the fate of Police Chief David Roddy.
Mayoral hopefuls Tim Kelly, a local businessman, and Kim White, former president of River City Co., separately initiated meetings with the police officers organization to discuss the future of the police department.
“I appreciated the opportunity to recently meet with the FOP and thought we had a very productive conversation,” White wrote in an emailed statement about a recent meeting she initiated with the police organization. “In that meeting I told the group that I support Chief Roddy and look forward to working with him and his leadership team to give them the resources and support needed in order for them to be as successful as possible.”
(READ MORE: How Chattanooga’s 2021 mayoral candidates plan to address police reform)
Similarly, Kelly says he reached out to the group to share his message.