At a meeting Monday evening, Chattanooga's NAACP called some of Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Deputy Daniel Wilkey's alleged offenses "satanic rituals" and said they are in the process of discussing an action plan to hold Sheriff Jim Hammond accountable for his deputies' actions.
The 26-year-old deputy has been at the center of a criminal investigation and several lawsuits involving traffic stops, during which he is accused of engaging in misconduct ranging from illegal drug searches and a roadside body cavity search to a forced baptism and the groping of female minors. He was indicted last week on 44 criminal charges, including six counts of sexual battery, two counts of rape and nine counts of official oppression.
NAACP President Elenora Woods called the alleged forced baptism "satanic," noting Wilkey "spoke of God telling him to do it."
"He's not a minister that I know of, so those types of things are satanic. They are not of God," she said. "If it's not of God, then it must be satanic.
"Any type of ritual or practice, if it's not of God, it's satanic."
As for the proposed action plan, Woods could not discuss its details Monday, as it has not been approved by the state and national chapters of the NAACP, but she said members of the organization have "a lot of issues and questions and concerns about the way the sheriff's department is being run and the oversight of the sheriff's department."
"We are working with a vengeance in getting justice for our people in this community," Woods added, but stopped short of calling for Hammond's ouster.
"We won't haphazardly go out front and say that he needs to be removed," she said. "But please understand; don't mistake that for us not holding him accountable for what has happened under his jurisdiction, under his supervision. And that if there is wrongdoing, that we find and we have evidence for, then he will be made accountable for that."
Daniel WilkeyHammond did not comment on the NAACP's talk of holding him accountable for the actions of his deputies, but in an email late Monday, he said, "When addressing issues relative to employees and civil service, there is a process in place to which I must follow and that process has to be given time to work."
In the meantime, the local chapter will be filing open records requests to examine sheriff's office policies and guidelines and whether those policies have been followed in deputy disciplinary actions and employment practices.
"It's very troubling when you have a person who is responsible for, I guess, protecting the citizens and you're causing harm," she said. "It's very, very troubling when you still have a sheriff's department that's standing behind them to some degree and not owning up to the fact that these people need to be dismissed from the sheriff's department. They don't represent the good officers that work every day protecting out citizens."
Woods also expressed concern for the slow disciplinary process.
Wilkey has been on paid administrative leave since July and will remain so pending his disciplinary hearing, which is set for Dec. 30, according to the sheriff's office. His annual salary is $41,483, according to the sheriff's office. That is approximately $19.94 per hour.
Attorney Robin Flores, who is representing nine people in civil lawsuits against Wilkey, said a number of attorneys have reached out to him about other individuals, including an attorney from Nashville.
Additionally, Flores said he and attorney John Cavett are discussing a possible class-action lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
In order to do that, the attorneys will have to prove that the sheriff's office is liable for its deputies either by showing that their actions are supported by policy - or a lack thereof - or that there is a pattern of complacency toward misconduct.
Flores has already begun building a case for proving a pattern in the lawsuits he has filed. Each one details a growing list of alleged misconduct of deputies, something he argues "created an environment that allowed [the deputies] to believe that abusive behavior would not be properly monitored, investigated [nor punished] and was tantamount to a policy of the County." That led deputies to believe they would "not be punished in any significant way."
And the belief was only reinforced by Hammond's public comments supporting his deputies "before any meaningful investigation by his own [internal affairs]," one of the suits states.
Woods said she has asked State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, to look at what the process is for ousting a sheriff and what the legal ramifications would be, and whether any of the current allegations would call for the need to ask Hammond to resign.
"But I would say to Sheriff Hammond we are open to look at the things that have happened, and if he feels in his heart - and he states he's a Christian man - and he feels and knows within his heart that he has caused harm to the people of this community, that he would do the right thing."
Meanwhile, a group of black pastors and ministers has doubled down on its call for the sheriff to resign.
"We will not rest until competent, professional and compassionate leadership is in the seat of the Sheriff, and Jim Hammond has proven that neither of these are attributes he possess," the group said in a news release Monday. "We will continue to explore options to get Sheriff Hammond removed because 2022 is too long to wait."
Hammond has said he won't step down. But the 75-year-old has announced that he won't run for re-election in 2022, citing wishes to spend more time with his family.
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