September, 30 2013, 03:09pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Ash-Lee Henderson, Concerned Citizens for Justice, hendersonaw@gmail.com, 423-401-8893 or 423-794-6434
Judge Orders Chattanooga Police to Get Jobs Back After Shocking Beating Caught on Tape
CHATTANOOGA, TN
The graphic seven-minute long video of Chattanooga Police officers Sean Emmer and Adam Cooley choking, punching, tazing, macing, and breaking both a man's legs with batons in June 2012 has been viewed more than one hundred thousand times. Both officers were fired for the assault, but Administrative Judge Kim Summers ruled last week that the officers should be reinstated with back pay, benefits, and seniority. The City of Chattanooga has until October 9 to file an appeal to the order, which it is considering.
"Victims of police brutality in this city feel that a license has just been granted to Emmer and Cooley and the CPD to continue abusing community members with impunity," said Janelle Jackson, an organizer with Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ) in Chattanooga.
Nearly one year before this incident, officer Sean Emmer was involved in a similar incident when he left a business owner with seven broken bones in his face. CCJ is organizing protests and demonstrations to pressure the city to appeal Judge Summers' order and make sure the men do not get reinstated. A Change.org petition they are circulating received almost one thousand signatures in a few days.
The victim, Adam Tatum, who was a federal halfway house inmate at the time of the attack, has filed a $50 million civil suit against the city and police department.
Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ): Educating, Agitating, Motivating, and Organizing in Chattanooga!
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