Chattanooga City Councilwoman’s brother arrested in viral video
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The brother of a Chattanooga City Councilwoman was arrested on Monday. A viral video shows a portion of that arrest. The sheriff’s office then released additional information on what happened at the scene.
Ricky Coonrod, brother of Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, livestreamed a portion of the arrest to Facebook as it happened.
WATCH HERE:
Coonrod claimed in the video that deputies pulled him over for a tag light being out and wanted him to step out of the car.
In the video, Coonrod says he is scared to get out of the car. He repeatedly says he should only be getting a ticket for the tag light.
“You can either get out of the vehicle or I’m going to bust the window open,” a deputy said.
Ricky Coonrod / Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
Eight minutes into the video, deputies broke the window. At that point, the video goes dark. Shortly after, you can hear Coonrod screaming in the background. Through the video, it is difficult to hear what law enforcement is saying to Coonrod.
Booking information from Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office shows Ricky Jerome Coonrod, 43, was arrested on Monday, January 22.
His booking report lists his charges as tag light violation, resisting arrest or obstruction of legal process, and drugs general category for resale.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office released a statement explaining the arrest of Coonrod.
HCSO Narcotics Detectives said they saw an individual making what appeared to be a narcotics transaction. They followed that car, which they say made two traffic violations on Germantown Road.
Authorities said they could not read the license plate on the car due to tag lights being out. That is when they initiated the traffic stop and Coonrod pulled into a gas station on Brainerd Road.
“Coonrod provided deputies with his driver’s license but was not able to provide the vehicle registration or proof of insurance.”
HCSO said deputies repeatedly told Coonrod to exit his vehicle, which he refused to do. The deputies spoke with their supervisor and then broke the window.
“Coonrod continued to resist arrest and was removed by deputies from the vehicle. Once out of the vehicle, he continued to resist and was drive-stunned by a taser by an East Ridge Police Officer. Once the taser application was utilized, compliance was achieved and Coonrod was taken into custody without further incident.”
The sheriff’s office says deputies searched Coonrod’s vehicle to find several individual bags of marijuana and $1,372 in cash.
Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod took to Facebook Tuesday morning to address the incident.
“It’s deeply troubling to hear that while he is mentally okay, the encounter has left significant emotional and physical impacts with my brother,” Coonrod said in her video.
She added that the conduct of Hamilton County and East Ridge authorities was “unprofessional” and “disrespectful.”
SEE THAT VIDEO HERE:
