Brandi BurtonA defense attorney for the 26-year-old woman charged in a shooting incident that injured a Chattanooga police officer and a civilian said Tuesday it was accidental.
Brandi Burton is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of felony reckless endangerment in connection with a June 2 shooting incident that happened around 4 a.m. on June 2 at a Waffle House at 2024 E. 23rd St.
Chattanooga police investigators said an officer on the scene saw an argument outside between two women and another group. When the officer went outside to break it up, the officer saw one of the women holding a gun, police said. The officer tried to disarm her and the gun went off, striking him and another man, police said. By questioning witnesses, investigators learned Burton was involved, police said, and she turned herself in the next day.
Burton since has posted a $110,000 bond and hired Chattanooga attorney Bill Speek, who said Tuesday the shooting was accidental. Speek said he'll be reviewing video of the incident between now and June 25, when Burton is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Hamilton County General Sessions Court. He added there is a history of threats between Burton and another person involved in the incident.
"It was unfortunate," Speek said of the officer being shot, "[but] certainly not anything intentional on [Burton's] part."
In the meantime, Assistant District Attorney Darren Gibson said in court, prosecutors are moving to revoke Burton's bond. Court records show Burton was charged in late March with assaulting a police officer. Specifically, a court affidavit alleges that Burton let an acquaintance into her car who police wanted to arrest for shoplifting at Hamilton Place mall and then drove toward an officer who wanted her to stop. That case remains ongoing.
Contact Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.