Charges against a black man who was strip searched during a traffic stop in Soddy-Daisy have been dropped.
The order involving 41-year-old James Myron Mitchell was made official Thursday at the Hamilton County Courthouse, according to news outlets and The Associated Press.
Dashcam footage released by the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office July 12 shows two white Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputies punching, kicking and stripping the pants off of a handcuffed black man who they may have body-cavity searched on the side of a road. The two deputies were placed on paid administrative leave following the incident, which occurred on July 10.
District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said he asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Gov. Bill Lee to look into the alleged brutality.
Deputies can "strip search" a suspect, according to a copy of the sheriff's policy implemented in 2014. That's where deputies can ask an arrested person to remove or arrange their clothes to "permit a visual inspection of the genitals, buttocks, anus, female breasts, or undergarments." But a body cavity search takes it one step further and involves probing body parts. Not only can deputies not conduct them unless they have a search warrant or specific written consent, but a licensed physician or nurse is supposed to do the body cavity examination in a "controlled and private environment," according to the policy, which is based on state law.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP has characterized the roadside search as aggravated rape and pleaded for criminal accountability from law enforcement and unity from citizens in order to bring an end to police brutality against people of color.
A group of Hamilton County pastors also has called for the immediate resignation of Sheriff Jim Hammond.
Since the incident, the DA's office has created a hotline for citizens to report police brutality.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.