Several Chattanooga City Council members are insisting Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston come before them to explain why, they say, he is not participating in what has been billed as the city's key initiative in fighting gang violence.
"The guys doing some of these shootings have been arrested several times," Councilman Russell Gilbert said Tuesday. "He can explain why, with so many arrests, they get right out [of jail]."
"I would like [Pinkston] to come and look us in the face and tell us why he doesn't want to get on board with VRI," Councilman Jerry Mitchell added.
The city's Violence Reduction Initiative is a plan to reduce violence by convincing gang members that police and prosecutors will use every legal means at their disposal to target them and ensure they either stop the shootings or end up behind bars for as long as possible.
As district attorney, Pinkston's office is in a key role with the VRI, in that his staff is involved in what charges to pursue and whether to negotiate plea bargains.
Pinkston has stated repeatedly he does not believe he can ethically treat gang members any differently than other alleged criminals.
"We support VRI," he said in an interview with the Times-Free Press in November. "[But] just because the city has a crime initiative, that doesn't change the way we prosecute cases. The rules are already set for us."
Last week, Pinkston acknowledged that prosecutors at times pay more attention to VRI cases. He maintained, however, that VRI status is only one factor among many considerations in each case.
A Times Free Press investigation published last weekend showed the vast majority of targeted VRI offenders have avoided long sentences and significant jail time.
Reporters tracked 229 of the 263 VRI cases through the courts and checked how each one was prosecuted.
Of those 229 cases, 97 were settled through guilty pleas, 64 haven't been decided, 31 were dismissed and 28 people were re-arrested because they violated probation. Another six people received judicial diversion and could have their charges expunged. Three more cases had other dispositions.
Of the guilty pleas, 80 percent of people received suspended sentences - in part or in full - and spent little to no time in jail. Instead, most defendants were put on probation.
The VRI strategy relies on police convincing gang members that if they do not stop violent activity, they will feel the full force of the criminal justice system.
Police officers meet with gang members and explain two rules: don't kill anyone, and don't be the most violent group.
Officers vow to arrest not only the person who pulls the trigger, but also anyone else in the group involved in the violence. Other efforts could include targeting relatively minor offenses such as calling city code inspectors to condemn a house, cutting off someone's stolen cable TV service, or pursuing jail time for minor offenses.
"We bring all arrests involving that group or gang to the prosecutor and expect them to give each case the agreed-upon special attention due to the serious nature of gang activity," Chattanooga police Chief Fred Fletcher said in a statement in November.
Several council members said they don't want to point fingers at Pinkston, but instead want the council, police department, district attorney's office and judiciary to sit down and discuss what they can do to fight gang violence.
"I would like to see us have a meeting where we are informed on what is being done, are we looking at anything different going forward and what role do we play in that," Councilman Yusuf Hakeem said.
Councilman Moses Freeman said he does not want to get into a debate over what policies have failed.
"Those who don't like VRI have a bigger responsibility to bring to this community positive solutions rather than arguing over what doesn't work," he said. "It takes a long time to create the level of crime that is in this community, and it's going to take a long time to solve it. For us to sit here and think it is going to be solved overnight is irrational."
Council Chairwoman Carol Berz assigned Public Safety Committee Chairman Chip Henderson to contact Pinkston, Fletcher, Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw and others to try to arrange a meeting.
Pinkston's spokeswoman, Melydia Clewell, said Tuesday evening no one from the council has contacted the district attorney's office so far.
"If any council members do reach out to our office," she said, "we'll answer their questions as best we can."
Staff writers Shelly Bradbury and Zack Peterson contributed to this story.
Contact staff writer Steve Johnson at sjohnson@timesfreepress.com, 423-757-6673, on Twitter @stevejohnsonTFP, and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/noogahealth.