Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. to correct the name of the union.
The International Brotherhood of Police Officers has spoken out in support of Hamilton County School Resource Deputy Tyler McRae, saying both the media and social media platforms have played a role in vilifying police officers.
McRae can be seen in both a short clip and an hourlong video forcefully arresting an East Ridge High School student after he was called to the gymnasium Sept. 20 to address an issue involving Tauris Sledge, 18, and a coach -- which led to negative social media commentary as well as a walkout in protest by fellow East Ridge High School students and some faculty members in support of Sledge.
"That's the way society is being taught now," Vincent Champion, the southeast regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, said in a telephone interview with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "Apparently, the criminals are the good guys, and we (police) are no longer the good guys."
In the hourlong body camera footage, Sledge could be heard yelling at faculty members several times, as well as telling McRae that he had "five seconds to get his hands off him," as McRae put his hand on Sledge's shoulder to try to calm him down. Sledge later refused to leave the gym after repeated requests from both McRae and faculty members.
"This is what the media and everyone has caused, including the attorneys and people who have been on Facebook and Twitter making accusations," Champion said. "Instead of looking at the fact that an 18-year-old man, because he's an adult even though he is a student, threatened a teacher, the law enforcement (officer) had to take action, and then the 18-year-old man fought with the officer, and he had to do what he had to do."
In the short video recorded by a student and shared on social media, McRae was seen pulling on Sledge's hair and forcing him to the floor, as Sledge could be heard saying that he was not resisting.
Champion said the walkout was unfair and only based on the initial short clip of the arrest that was shared on social media. He urged everyone to see the hourlong video.
"He did his job" Champion said of McRae, "and now what he wanted to do, he can't do anymore, not because he's wrong, but because social media, attorneys and so-called civil rights leaders are tweeting things that they don't even know. I am ashamed of those teachers who walked out."
McRae, who requested to be assigned to the schools to "protect our children," according to Champion, began his tenure as a school resource deputy at East Ridge High School at the start of the semester. The week following Sledge's arrest, McRae requested a transfer back to patrol, which Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett approved, according to the office's spokesperson.
In response to the incident, Garrett released a statement in which he addressed the short clip shared on social media.
"As soon as the incident occurred, I was notified and immediately directed a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding this event," Garrett said in a Sept. 21 news release. "This includes a review of all documentation, cellphone and school surveillance video, and the SRD's body-worn camera footage, which documents approximately one hour of the event from the initial interaction with the SRD, the incident shown in the social media video, and the events that immediately followed. I understand this is a sensitive issue to many in our community ... The contents of the video will show the complete picture of the events that occurred that day surrounding this deputy's use of force at East Ridge High School."
The office would not say whether McRae was under investigation.
In response to allegations that McRae used excessive force by using mace during Sledge's arrest, Champion said that an officer's job is difficult and video footage does not help.
"Our job doesn't look good on video, no matter how it happens," Champion said. "Until you do my job, you don't tell me what's right and what's wrong, mace, or OC spray (oleoresin capsicum, aka pepper spray) is considered nonlethal. It's also considered not going hands-on. So he was trying to stop the incident in the easiest way possible."
Sledge was charged with one count of resisting arrest, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of assault in connection with the Sept. 20 incident. He is due to appear before Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes on Nov. 29.
Contact La Shawn Pagán at lpagan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow her on Twitter @LaShawnPagan.