Officials warn against racial profiling in relation to TDA

TBI Director David Rausch (left), Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett (middle), and Chattanooga Police Chief John Chambers (right) discussing concerns regarding Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- The revelation that an arrest last week in Chattanooga was related to a gang from Venezuela is causing a lot of reaction.

Tren de Aragua is a transnational criminal gang, who were busted here at a local motel for human trafficking.One part of the discussion officials is being overlooked is the effect on our local Hispanic population.

They want to remind the TDA gang is not established here in Chattanooga, however they are a migratory gang that moves around in order to conduct illicit activities.

Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett said, “Don’t focus on who the person is because crime is crime. We’ll filter the rest and decide if it’s gang activity or not. You start blurring some lines when try to tell people what to look for when it comes to that.”

One issue authorities say they’re combating is misinformation on social media.

For example, a college bar in Knoxville was the target of a rumor relating to TDA that members were drugging women, which Knoxville Police said last week was untrue.

We have not been able to verify that post’s origin.

Authorities say that is far from the only case.

TBI Director David Rausch said, “They do it all the time. That was a perfect example of someone exploiting the news and trying to create fear from that for whatever reason.”

Additionally, Chattanooga Police Chief John Chambers reiterated that TDA is not present among Chattanooga’s Hispanic community.

Chief Chambers said, “Just because you speak Spanish doesn’t make you a part of this gang, just like if you own and ride a motorcycle it doesn’t make you part of a biker gang… We know that community is just as scared of them as people who may think they are a part of it as anyone else is. So we want to protect that community as well. They are part of Chattanooga, they are part of our community and we’re going to protect them as well as we would anyone else.”

All three emphasized that markers such as tattoos are not a reliable indicator for who might be in a gang, and that ultimately they can only act upon information if there is reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed.

Sheriff Garrett said, “As law enforcement, the crime is what we’re focused on, it doesn’t matter who’s committing it at that point. We’re focused on the crime, so report the crime. That’s what you should be focused on as a community partner.”