Second Chattanooga police officer may have attended alleged 'Anything But Clothes' gang party

Jasin Holmes

A second Chattanooga police officer may have been present at a party in the Fraternal Order of Police lodge that was allegedly hosted by a Chattanooga Police Department detective and attended by well-known gang members.

Internal affairs investigators are now looking into Jasin Holmes, a detective in the department's Special Victims Unit, in addition to the officer accused of hosting the party, Iran Meadows.

Chief Fred Fletcher opened an internal affairs investigation into Meadows on March 5, after Meadows used his membership with the FOP to host the party at the Holtzclaw Avenue lodge on Jan. 31.

The FOP routinely allows members to use the lodge for free for events, such as family reunions or birthday parties.

But sources who asked to remain anonymous said the January party was much more than that, with felons and gang members paying a cover charge and crowding the space. A Facebook promo apparently for the event billed it as the ABC -- Anything But Clothes -- party, and featured slinky, scantily clad models in provocative poses.

The allegations that Holmes was also at the party emerged during the inquiry into Meadows, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Officer Holmes' involvement on the night in question is being reviewed amid these allegations as part of the ongoing fact-finding investigation," the statement read.

Police declined to say why Holmes was at the party or what he may have been doing there that night. He has been an officer for 12 years.

The internal investigation into Holmes and Meadows is ongoing. Both remain on active duty, and neither officer could be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Meadows has a history of unbecoming conduct while on the force.

The detective was fired from the department in 2003 after an internal affairs investigation found he created false K-9 certificates to make it look like two dogs had earned national certifications when in fact they had failed.

Then-police Chief Jimmie Dotson found that Meadows submitted false documents, neglected his duty, acted in an unbecoming manner and was untruthful during the internal affairs investigation. In a disciplinary hearing on Aug. 14, 2003, Meadows denied falsifying the documents.

But Meadows and Dotson spoke on the phone hours after Meadows' disciplinary hearing and Meadows admitted he was guilty of the allegations, according to a letter in his internal affairs case file. He apologized for lying during the hearing, Dotson said.

Dotson told Meadows he would reconsider the firing if the officer wrote a letter that explained why he acted the way he did and apologized for his actions. Meadows had to have the letter on Dotson's desk by 9 a.m. the next day.

Meadows never wrote the letter and was fired on Aug. 15.

However, Meadows was reinstated a few months later when he appealed Dotson's decision to a panel of Chattanooga City Council members in October 2003. The panel reversed the firing and instead levied a 28-day suspension against Meadows. They also placed the officer on probation for a year.

At the time, council members said the evidence against Meadows was not conclusive and said his good track record at the department weighed in his favor.

Council members called his employment record "unblemished," even though by that point Meadows had been investigated by internal affairs six times and disciplined once. He was hired in 1991.

Since 2003, internal affairs has looked into Meadows another four times, including this current investigation.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas.