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September 15, 2006
Barry Graham: "Chattanooga Cops Act Like a Gang"
From Barry Graham's blog:
Last night, staff at the Mud Pie cafe called the Chattanooga cops when a customer assaulted three different people, including a staff member whom the customer grabbed by the face. Instead of arresting the drunk, the cops threatened the staff, and a reporter - me - who asked questions.This report is, by its nature, incomplete, but there will be more to follow.
Three police cars showed up, but, even though the suspect was clearly drunk, they let him return to his car. When staff members questioned the cops, they were told that the suspect was not being allowed to drive, but was just going to his car to lock up before walking home. When I asked what the guy's problem was, a cop said, "His personality." I thanked the cop for taking the time to answer my question, and I returned to the cafe.
The guy didn't walk home. Instead, he got in his car and drove away. This seemed to upset the staff members who'd called the cops on him. I heard them discussing it with the cops, one of whom told Jennifer Thaggard, "Get out of my face or we'll call the Beer Board." At that point, I decided to get involved.
I approached a cop, who refused to identify himself, and I calmly asked him why they had let the guy drive away. He answered that the guy hadn't committed a crime and wasn't drunk. I asked if they had given him a sobriety test.
"Get out of my face, or I'll arrest you," he said.
I was far from being in the cop's face. He was in a car, and I was at least ten feet away. "Arrest me for what?" I said.
"Disorderly conduct."
"How is asking you a question disorderly conduct? I haven't raised my voice. I'm not giving you an attitude. I'm just asking you a question."
He didn't answer. Instead he said, "He isn't drunk."
"Did you give him a sobriety test?" I asked again.
"No."
"Then how do you know he isn't drunk?"
"Expertise. I have four years experience."
"What's your name?"
"I don't have to tell you my name. What's your name?"
"Are you on duty right now?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Then you've forgotten the law. I don't have to tell you my name, unless you arrest me for something. But, out of goodwill, I'll tell you anyway. My name's Barry Graham. I'm a reporter. I write for local newspapers and national magazines, and I'm concerned by what I've seen tonight. Now, if you're on duty, you're supposed to give me your name."
He drove away. I turned my attention to the cop in another car who was threatening to arrest staff members of the Mud Pie, who were consistently polite (mainly, I found later, because they were intimidated). I asked the other cops to tell me the name of their belligerent colleague who had just driven away. They refused, but also offered to arrest me. I (politely) accepted their offer, but they didn't follow through.
Then their colleague came back.
I wrote down the number on his license plate (GX9219) and told him, "I'll check this with your bosses tomorrow." Then I turned away and walked back towards the Mud Pie.
"Sir!" I heard him call. "Sir! Sir! Get back here right now!"
This ain't my first rodeo. The staff of the Mud Pie aren't stupid either. They urged me to keep walking, which I did, and when we got inside they locked the door.
In about a minute, the cops appeared at the front door. They demanded to be let in, and, when the staff refused, they demanded that I come outside.
"Sorry," I said. "Not until I call my lawyer."
"Oh, your lawyer," said the guy who'd refused to give his name but had threatened to arrest me. "Go ahead and call your lawyer, then."
The staff shut the door, but I took the guy's advice. I called my friend Jimmy Logan, one of the best attorneys in the nation. I told him what was going on. Jimmy told me to sit tight, and he made a few phone calls, telling the cops to call off the hounds.
It worked.
For a while, cop cars kept circling the Mud Pie. After that, an unmarked car pulled into the parking lot, and a guy in plainclothes jogged through the parking lot and up the nearby alley. One customer remarked, "Yeah, I like to keep in shape by jogging up alleyways at three in the morning looking really sketchy." But, soon after Logan got on the phone, there was nobody there but staff and witnesses.
Those who remained adjourned to a nearby Waffle House to relax and recover from what had happened. I went with them, and got the numbers of witnesses. Enough people were outraged that once the investigation is complete they will go on the record. This is as much as I have at the moment, but I will be talking to the police chief as soon as business hours open, and you can expect the rest of the story to be reported here and in local media soon.
Between the Bridges | By colrus | 11:17 PM
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