Former Chattanooga police officer unloads frustration about VRI

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF) – A former high-profile Chattanooga police officer unloads his frustration over the way current police Chief Fred Fletcher is running the city’s Violence Reduction Initiative program.

Last Thursday when News 12 spoke to Chief Fletcher, he was confident the Violence Reduction Initiative is working to reduce violent crime in the city’s most crime ridden areas.

“The underlying strategy behind VRI is exactly what folks I met with in communities like Alton Park asked for; which was to treat people who cause the most disorder and the most crime and violence very seriously with law enforcement responses and to not harass, saturate or otherwise overly police at risk neighborhoods,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher’s comment came two days after District Attorney General Neal Pinkston wrote a detailed letter explaining why he thinks the VRI is not effective.

Fast forward to Monday when former Chattanooga police officer Napoleon “Donut” Williams jumped into the argument. Williams believes Chief Fletcher’s approach to reducing violent crime is off base, especially when it comes to violent crimes in predominantly black neighborhoods.

“I don’t think he know what a clue is going on. I don’t think he know what’s happening because anytime you let a an academy of 30 white officers and one black graduate, something’s not right,” Williams said.

Williams is a well respected in the black community as a former high-profile police officer. He told News 12 the VRI is not working because too many of today’s officers are working in African American neighborhoods they know nothing about.

“If you come out that neighborhood, hey put them back out there because they know everybody in the neighborhood; their grandmothers, granddaddy’s and everybody; classmates and stuff. It pays off. It payed off for me in the 60’s,” Williams said.

Williams also feels that many of the black on black homicides can be solved a lot quicker by African American officers who are already connected to the black community.

“You got some officers who went to Brainerd High School, Tyner and Central. They know this city. Don’t push them to the side. Bring them to the team. They got two black officers working major crimes who can’t even do murders. They won’t let them work murders. But if you shoot someone in the leg, then you handle that. That’s not fair. Lets keep it real,” Williams said.

According to data released from the Chattanooga Police Department, African Americans make up 23-percent of the CPD force which includes sworn and civilian personnel.