CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -(WDEF) After video showing two Chattanooga police officers beating a man went viral online, it only added to the list of alleged incidents of brutality by CPD.
A group called the Concerned Citizens for Justice said the video of Adam Tatum being beaten by the two officer at the Salvation Army was last straw. That incident prompted the organization to set up a public meeting and workshop to address an alleged history of brutality by members of the CPD.
"This is an issue of collective justice that we're trying to search for and really come together as a community to find community base solutions to police brutality," said meeting organizer Ash-Lee Henderson.
WDEF caught up with Charlotte Williams who attended the meeting. Williams knows all about the history of law enforcement brutality because she was a member of the Chattanooga Eight back in the early 90s. Chattanooga Eight was a group of demonstrators who were locked up by police for protesting the death of Larry Powell.
"It took us at least a year to get through that process to be found not guilty because the jury found that we did have the right to protest," Williams said.
Powell died while he was in custody of Hamilton County Sheriff Deputies. None of the deputies lost their jobs in that incident unlike the two Chattanooga officers who were fired for the beating of Adam Tatum.
Several attendees formed groups to discuss their own run-in's with what they call rouge officers.
"Its on of those big bulky guys with the meat head and no hair that took me down," said one man who was describing his experience with Chattanooga police.
"We've recorded things that become an internal investigation," said a woman who was describing her experience with Chattanooga Police.
Henderson said one of the problem many people have is knowing their rights when they are being confronted by police.
"We need to know our rights. We need to know the process in which we file complaints and we need to have a community voice against it," Henderson said.
WDEF contacted the Chattanooga police public information officer about the public meeting and he said he would rather refer questions to police chief Bobby Dodd. Dodd has yet to reply.
