Police criticized for not shooting suspect

"At the end of the pursuit it was his perception, his decision, not anyone sitting reading about this on the internet, not someone sitting in an armchair quarterbacking it. It was his decision, a split second decision, and obviously he made the right one," says Leiutenant Craig Joel.

"Hands up don’t shoot" echoes through every city in America, but when a Chattanooga officer chooses not to shoot 45-year old Julia Shields, the reaction is just the opposite.

"People are desperately trying to fit the events in other cities and other states like a template over Chattanooga right now, they’re reading too much into this. Every event is unique," says Leiutenant Craig Joel.

Joel says despite what the public thinks, they achieved the best possible outcome.

"In this case in Chattanooga, she complied with the officers request. He made the right decision, and she made the right decision because she’s the one that chose to put that gun down and comply with those orders," says Joel.

Since the incident, Joel says his agency has taken a lot of heat from members of the community.

"I find it incredibly frustrating that we’re actually being criticized for not shooting somebody. I’ve done this job a long time and that’s a pretty bitter pill to swallow," says Joel.

Many wonder if the outcome would’ve been the same, had she been dark-skinned.

One comment on our WDEF Facebook page says she’d be "shot dead no questions asked."

But Lieutenant Joel says color isn’t the issue.

"We cater to all demographics, all cultures all creeds and it doesn’t work that way. What he was dealing with was not a person, it wasn’t a gender or a skin color, he was dealing with a pistol," says Joel.

Shields is expected in court January 5th.