Clergy defend Murphy in front of district attorney’s office as Wamp responds
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Fireworks popped off inside of the Hamilton County Courts Building Monday morning.
Last week’s resignation and indictment of former Chattanooga police chief Celeste Murphy caused a group of African-American clergy to come out to defend her.
That group of black clergy chose to set up their press conference Monday morning in front of Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp’s office.
They say the decision to do so was “symbolic” to illustrate their belief that there is corruption among local leaders in relation to the situation surrounding Celeste Murphy.
She was indicted on 17 charges related to falsifying documents last week by a Hamilton County Grand Jury.
However, District Attorney Wamp took exception to this.
She told the clergy, “Do not come down to this courthouse and race bait. This is not about race. This is not about race.”
A tense atmosphere developed Monday morning between members of Chattanooga’s black clergy and D-A Wamp as clergy laid out their demands in the wake of the indictment against Celeste Murphy.
They want her to receive the full pay of her contract and for legislation to be introduced to protect the addresses of local leaders.
Pastor Dr. Ernest Reid of Second Missionary Baptist Church said on behalf of the clergymen, “In our legal system, one is innocent until proven guilty. This attempt to discredit an African-American woman in leadership reeks of petty, partisan politics, with a dangerous outcome if applied uniformly.”
In their view, Murphy never got a fair chance as chief, bringing up the 2022 Brady Letters incident as one example.
“Chief Murphy, who joined our community, with high hopes a few years ago, has faced resistance and hostility, from some corners almost immediately, from the start of her historic appointment” said Reid.
However, District Attorney Wamp reiterated she recused herself from the Murphy investigation, and questioned why the clergy care so much about this situation.
She cited the statistic of 77% of all homicide victims in Chattanooga being African-American, with every suspect so far also being African-American.
District Attorney Wamp said, “I don’t recall a press conference, speaking out against those killers. I don’t recall a press conference where you stand up and are the voice of victims, maybe I wasn’t invited to that one.”
The District Attorney referenced private meetings between Chattanooga mayor Tim Kelly and these clergy that occurred last week.
We reported this on Friday when we were not allowed to go inside of those private meetings, nor did anyone speak with us.
District Attorney Wamp said that these clergy were encouraged to do this on Monday, and gave a response for the Mayor.S
“They’ve been meeting with the city mayor in the last week who encouraged them to be here and I have a message for them to take back to him.”, said District Attorney Wamp, “I am not up for re-election next year. I don’t care about your politics. He has my phone number. He has my email address, and he knows where I work. If he has something to say to me, he can come down here and say it.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Kelly gave us the following statement in response to the District Attorney.
“District Attorney Wamp is incorrect and off base. Though Mayor Kelly did meet last week with some members of the faith community, he had absolutely nothing to do with today’s press conference, a fact that any of them could verify. We are focused solely on supporting CPD in their mission to keep Chattanooga safe and finding our next police chief. If the Mayor has something to discuss with District Attorney Wamp, he will reach out to her directly.”
