The Chattanooga Police Department has released the names of 10 officers who were recently reassigned to non-enforcement duties because their records included sustained allegations of untruthfulness or misrepresentation.
The department released the names to a local citizen who asked for them after reading an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The citizen, who asked not to be named, shared the names with the newspaper.
The 10 officers are Sgt. Bobby W. Adams, Officer Jonathan E. Adams, Officer Charles W. Ballard, Officer Celtain R. Batterson, Sgt. Zachary P. Fuller, Officer Michael M. Hogsed, Officer Michael S. Keef, Officer Zachary L. Smith, Officer Gregory H. Stroud and Officer Jarrelle M. Wolff.
The department announced it was reassigning the officers Aug. 17 after receiving a request from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee for a list of officers who had sustained allegations of misrepresenting the truth.
After an internal audit, five more officers were identified, making it a total of 15 officers who had sustained such allegations. The Times Free Press has asked the city to identify the additional five.
Some of the officers have previously been in the news.
The Times Free Press reported the arrest of Stroud following a domestic violence incident in Collegedale. Stroud admitted to police that he had an argument with a woman but said it didn't escalate to an altercation. Officers arrested Stroud and charged him with simple assault. Charges were later dismissed and his record expunged.
The Times Free Press reported that in 2019 Batterson and another officer were under investigation after a vehicle crashed into a Brainerd home during a chase. Batterson and Donnis Boochie were in pursuit of a suspect when the driver crashed into a home on North Moore Road.
Local 3 News reported the promotion of a dozen Chattanooga Police Officers, one of which was Sgt. Bobby Adams, in December 2021.
According to the information released by the city, Ballard left the department on Aug. 17, and his salary was $71,500.
The salaries for the other officers now restricted from enforcement activities but still being paid range from $51,700 to $75,900.
The Times Free Press inquired to the Chattanooga Police Department about the names of the original 10 officers on Aug. 17 and Aug. 23. The newspaper also asked for names of all such recently reassigned officers. To date, neither the city nor the department have responded.
The unions and attorneys representing the officers have said that some of the allegations, which led to internal affairs investigations, were sustained over 10 years ago and all the officers involved have already been punished for them.
On Aug. 24, union representatives, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy came to a resolution that called for the formation of a review board composed of a diverse group of officers. The board would look over the files which led to the reassignments, with Murphy having the last word on the officers' role with the department.
Davis & Hoss, the law firm which represents the Fraternal Order of Police and some of the affected officers individually, said the agreement was an effort by the city to correct a procedural violation made by the chief.
"There has been no 'collaborative resolution' here. The new chief effectively ended these officers' careers by taking their badges, taking their guns and putting them on desk duty. Their IA (internal affairs) cases were closed," Bryan Hoss, an attorney at the firm, said in a news release.
"Their previous discipline was over. These officers were actively serving and protecting this community when the new chief took her own unilateral action. There is no city policy that allows for the new chief to punish officers more severely for past actions than policy allows. Make no mistake about it, this was the city's idea to correct her violation of these officers' due process rights."
In response, the city said it will move forward with the process.
"As previously announced, the city and the Chattanooga Police Department are moving forward with an internal review process for each of the 15 affected officers, in close coordination with employee groups," Kirsten Yates, the director of communications for Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly's office, said in an email to the Times Free Press. "These employee groups will provide input on the criteria used to evaluate each affected officer's career and the previously sustained relevant violation. An internal CPD review committee will provide a recommendation to Chief Murphy, who will make the final decision on the outcome for the affected officers. This review process is separate and apart from any legal action any individual employees may choose to take against the City or any particular department."
Chattanooga police, unions and attorneys did not immediately respond to calls or emails for comment on the newly released list of names.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.