June 17, 2021

Merrick Garland
United States Attorney General

Kristen Clarke
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Re: Request to U.S. Department of Justice to Investigate Pattern and Practice of

Misconduct by Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office

Dear Attorney General Garland and Assistant Attorney General Clarke,

On behalf of the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, a coalition of clergy and organizers
committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of all Hamilton County residents, we urge the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office’s
(HCSO) disturbing history of police violence against the communities it services. Specifically,
we ask that the DOJ pursue a pattern or practice investigation of HCSO's lengthy record of
civil rights violations.

DOJ Must Pursue Pattern or Practice Investigation of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s
Office

Over the past decade, officers from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office have engaged in a
pattern or practice of using excessive force, conducting improper searches and seizures in
violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, and mishandling critical evidence
necessary for prosecution of officers who violate the constitutional and civil rights of Hamilton
County citizens.1 Since the election of Sheriff Jim Hammond2 in 20083, more than 19
constitutional and civil rights violations4 against citizens of Hamilton County have been
1
David Cook, Black history and the training of a county sheriff, Times Free Press (Feb. 20, 2021),
https://bit.ly/3gBHfQR (summarizing some of the injustices perpetrated against Hamilton County Citizens by
HCSO).
2
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, https://bit.ly/3gydMbS (last visited June 16, 2021).
3
Hammond has worked for HCSO off and on throughout his career, serving as the Assistant Deputy from
1978-1994.
4
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice created a website with a timeline of events that points to incidents. It is by no
means an exhaustive list, but only documents incidents for which there are media articles to support the incidents.
reported and documented, and at least eight HCSO deputies have been explicitly accused of
misconduct.5 Only one of those deputies has been fired.6 Others have either resigned, been put
on paid administrative leave, or continue to remain on the force.7 Multiple allegations of police
brutality in recent years “highlight a culture of bad hiring practices within the Hamilton County
Sheriff's Office.”8 At least five officers were hired by HCSO after use of force incidents or
firings from other departments.9 Sheriff Hammond has refused to fire officers after use of force
incidents, and has even made public comments after use of force incidents that “these are young
officers, these are good officers, and these are seasoned officers.”10

The Chattanooga Clergy for Justice and other clergy groups11, community organizations,12
county commissioners,13 and the Hamilton County community at large14 are alarmed at the

We found over nineteen incidents involving at least eight HCSO officers, and only one has been held accountable.
The others are still on the force or have resigned. Many of our facts in this document are also included on our
website: https://chaclergyforjustice.weebly.com.
5
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, https://chaclergyforjustice.weebly.com (last visited June 16, 2021).
6
Beth Burger, Hamilton County deputy was hired without reservation, Times Free Press (Jan. 19, 2014),
https://bit.ly/35wkKYi.
7
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, supra note 5.
8
Bliss Zechman, Attorney: Indicted Hamilton County deputy Daniel Wilkey faces 4 more lawsuits, News Channel 9
(Dec. 16, 2019), https://bit.ly/3gE718t (quoting Attorney Robin Flores who has filed lawsuits against multiple
officers for use of force violations).
9
See, e.g., Michelle Heron, Records shed light on deputies' backgrounds after excessive force allegations, WRCBtv
(Aug. 1, 2019), https://bit.ly/3q8xYEb; Beth Burger, supra note 6; Zack Peterson, Hamilton County detective
involved in video beating was previously accused of violence by girlfriend, Times Free Press (Dec. 19, 2018),
https://bit.ly/3q3xOxH.
10
WRCB Staff, UPDATE: Two Hamilton County deputies on paid leave pending outcomes of excessive force
investigations, WRCBtv (July 12, 2019), https://bit.ly/35r5QCP.
11
Local clergy have attempted to address these issues with the HCSO over the last several years. There have been at
least three attempts asking him to resign, and multiple attempts to meet with him. See the timeline on our website
for some specifics:https://bit.ly/3xrAKqt. See also, Hamilton County Ministers' Letter To Gov. Lee (Aug. 12, 2019),
available at https://bit.ly/2UddazB.
12
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County sheriff's deputy asks judge to put civil lawsuit on hold as FBI investigates 2018
beating of Chattanooga rapper, Times Free Press (Feb. 7, 2021), https://bit.ly/2SD8fr2 ((NAACP and the Nation of
Islam call for the firing of Detective Blake Kilpatrick); Concerned Citizens for Justice, DA Neal Pinkston: Prosecute
Deputies Wilkey and Brewer Now!, https://bit.ly/3iNEpuW (last visited June 16, 2021); Mark Pace, Unity Group of
Chattanooga calls for Department of Justice investigation after alleged excessive force by Hamilton County's
Sheriff's Office, Times Free Press (July 21, 2019), https://bit.ly/3vrQTel; Zack Peterson & Rosana Hughes, NAACP:
Wednesday's police body-cavity search of suspect was aggravated rape, Times Free Press (July 13, 2019),
https://bit.ly/3xxHNy9.
13
WTVC Staff, Commissioners call for firing of Hamilton Co. Deputy featured in viral arrest video, News Channel
9 (Dec. 19, 2018), https://bit.ly/3cNVFwa; WRCB Staff, UPDATE: Review says deputies didn't violate law in
Reginald Arrington case, 'substantial' training issues exist, WRCBtv (Feb. 4, 2021), https://bit.ly/3wA8P7E
(quoting three county commissioners: 1) Commissioner Katherlyn Geter, "I am deeply troubled and quite frankly
mad as hell, about the re-occurring [sic] incidents that just keep taking place here in Hamilton County. . . . Enough is
enough, we simply can no longer keep doing this, we cannot breathe;” 2) Commissioner David Sharpe, "Can anyone
relax while being beaten 25 times by a four pound baton? . . . This is unacceptable. I didn't see any efforts to
de-escalate, I didn't see any effort to intervene in this video;” and 3) Commissioner Warren Mackey, “I'm saying my
constituents, they are outraged by what they saw.”).
14
Sarah Grace Taylor, Hamilton County Commission criticized for cutting off comments from public, Times Free
Press (June 11, 2020), https://bit.ly/2SIqyet (Citizens call for prison and sheriff department reform and budget cuts).
See also, Zack Peterson, Charles Toney Jr. Case: Hamilton County Sheriff says he won't step down as community
consistent pattern and practice of abusive and dangerous misconduct by the HCSO.15
Unfortunately, leadership in the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has chosen to ignore the cries
of its community. For example, in 2019, the Unity Group of Chattanooga filed a complaint with
the DOJ citing a pattern or practice of abuse by HCSO officers against Hamilton County
citizens.16 Instead of working with the Unity Group to address the allegations underlying their
complaint, Sheriff Hammond stated there was no need for such a filing.17 More recently, HCSO
has chosen to ignore, deny meetings with, and altogether fail to meaningfully engage with the
undersigned Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, the HCSO Minority Relations Task Force (which
the Sheriff created to “provide opportunities for continued dialogue between the community
and Sheriff Hammond”), community organizers, taxpayers, and even the US Department of
Justice regarding these issues. Evidence of efforts to engage and meet with HCSO and the
responses, or lack thereof, received are as follows:
● On March 5, 2021, Walter Atkinson with the Community Relations Service of the
United States Department of Justice offered to mediate a meeting between the HCSO,
the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, and the community to reevaluate HCSO’s current
use of force practices and policies.
● On March 11, 2021, the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice met with Walter Atkinson to
express our concerns regarding several cases of HCSO deputies using excessive force
on citizens while handcuffed. Following that meeting, from March 11 – 25, 2021, Walter
Atkinson attempted to contact the HCSO’s Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission Officer and Sheriff Hammond to schedule a meeting between the HSCO,
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, and the community. The purpose of the meeting was to
discuss the HCSO’s current use of force. The HCSO never responded to the requests for
a meeting.
● On March 25, 2021, the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice and community organizers
responded to Sheriff Hammond’s February 17, 2021 release of HCSO’s current policies
on use of force. In our March 25th response, we indicated the policy was too broad and
had too many areas where the policy allowed officers to use individual discretion. The
response outlined two examples of the specific areas in the current policy where more
objective language was needed.
● On April 6, 2021, in an emailed response to clergy regarding a request for a mediated
meeting with Walter Atkinson (Sheriff Hammond never responded to any five of Walter
Atkinson’s requests to meet), the HCSO responded “there is no need for a meeting”

members circulate resignation petition, Times Free Press (Jan. 2, 2019), https://bit.ly/3gsExhD; Rosana Hughes,
Residents announce plan to create Hamilton County Sheriff's Office oversight board, some call for Sheriff Hammond
to step down, Times Free Press (July 18, 2019), https://bit.ly/35pDZ5Y.
15
Michelle Heron, 3 INVESTIGATES: The cost of officer misconduct to taxpayers, WRCBtv (Jan. 7, 2020),
https://bit.ly/3gvC3z6.
16
Mark Pace, supra note 12.
17
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond says he doesn't think alleged excessive force incident
warrants U.S. Department of Justice investigation, Times Free Press (July 22, 2019), https://bit.ly/3zvngvR.
Given Sheriff Hammond’s complete lack of interest in resolving the rampant misconduct in the
HCSO, we call on the DOJ to do what no one has been able to do: hold Sheriff Hammond and
his officers accountable for the systemic constitutional violations they have committed against
Hamilton County citizens. Under 34 U.S.C. § 2601 (previously codified at 42 U.S.C. § 14141),
the DOJ is authorized to investigate police departments for patterns or practices of systemic,
unconstitutional policing. Upon a finding of a pattern or practice of constitutional violations,
the DOJ can obtain a court order requiring law enforcement agencies to address the systemic
institutional failures that produce police abuses and misconduct.18 As detailed below, the HCSO
has had a series of disturbing police incidents that call for immediate DOJ intervention. These
incidents are not the result of “a few bad apples” or isolated incidents, but rather indicate
systemic problems within the HCSO (including its policies and procedures around use of
force)19 that put our community at risk from its own public safety department. A DOJ pattern or
practice investigation is critical for stopping HCSO’s abuses against the community it is sworn
to protect and vindicating the constitutional rights of Hamilton County residents.

Listed below are brief descriptions of concerns, supported with documentation that
support this request.

1. Excessive force has been systematically used against residents of Hamilton County,
particularly Black residents. In the last eight years the HCSO has committed over 20
acts of violence that can be documented in the media against its citizens (this does not
include incidents within the detention centers).20 In the last two years, HCSO has made
national news three times for its excessive use of force. Several officers have more than
one allegation of use of force against them.21 After being pulled over for tinted windows
James Mitchell was beaten and sexually assaulted by two Hamilton County Sheriff’s
officers.22 Charles Toney, Jr. had an agreement with the prosecutor's office to turn
himself in, instead a tactical force came and arrested him and beat him while
handcuffed.23 Two days before the murder of George Floyd, officers were called to a
residential area where a Black man was “acting suspiciously.” Reginald Arrington was
held down for five-and-a-quarter minutes and beaten by five Hamilton County Sheriff’s

18
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, The Civil Rights Division’s Pattern and Practice Police Reform
Work: 1994-Present (January 2017), available at https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download.
19
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, Recommended Common-sense policy limits, available at https://bit.ly/3vySOhd
(demonstrating the task force Sheriff Hammond created found discrepancies between HCSO use of force policies
compared to those by the Use of Force Project).
20
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, Timeline Review of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department (last updated Feb. 4,
2021), available at https://bit.ly/3cNmMYb.
21
See, e.g., Rosana Hughes, 4 of 5 Hamilton County deputies from May beating of Black man have faced brutality
allegations, Times Free Press (June 24, 2020), https://bit.ly/3cPUZGq.
22
WRCB Staff, supra note 10.
23
The Associated Press, Lawyer wants prison for detective who punched handcuffed man, National Post (Dec. 13,
2018), https://bit.ly/3xsdx7H.
 officers.24 After the beating of Reginald Arrington, District Attorney Neal Pinkson
contracted with national use-of-force expert, Emanuel Kapelsohn, calling the officer’s
behavior “troubling.” Both men said the situation could have been prevented with better
HCSO training.25 Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Austin Garrett has
agreed with this assertion by saying areas of improvement have been identified in its
use-of-force applications.26

2. HCSO has a pattern of hiring officers with a history of abusive misconduct. Many
officers with multiple excessive force allegations in the Hamilton County Sheriff’s
Office have a history of similar allegations from previous police departments or
histories of violence.27 Officer Willie Marshay Greer was arrested and fired in 2014 for
aggrivated rape after forcing a woman into a sex act who was pulled over for a traffic
stop. Sheriff Jim Hammond publicly stated, "There's no reason to believe that this would
have occurred." Yet Mr. Greer had a history of arrest and incidents with law
enforcement before being hired.28 Officer Daniel Wilkey who has been indicted on 44
charges including rape and stalking29, was accused in a wrongful death lawsuit in
another department of fatally shooting an unarmed man in the head in 2014 while the
man was receiving treatment at an emergency room.30 Officer Jordan Ross-Long settled
an excessive use of force lawsuit as an officer in Collegedale before being hired by
Sheriff Hammond.31 Officer Ross-Long was on the force only a few months before
firing his weapon in three different instances against Hamilton County citizens.32 Officer
Blake Kilpatrick, who has multiple accusations of “use of force” as an officer with
HCSO, was a Meigs County Sheriff’s Officer when law enforcement were called and he
refused to leave after his 17-year-old fiancé filed an order of protection. Officer
Kilpatrick forced his way into her home, threatened to hurt everyone there, and hit her
when he tried to punch another man. She was killed a month later in a car accident along

24
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County prosecutor asks TBI to investigate beating of Black man by sheriff's deputies,
Times Free Press (June 23, 2020), https://bit.ly/2S11Lly.
25
Charges Will Not Be Filed Against Deputies In Arrington Arrest, But DA Pinkston Says Better Officer Training
Needed, The Chattanoogan (Feb. 4, 2021), https://bit.ly/3iUcp8C.
26
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County deputies face no charges for baton strikes on Black man in Ooltewah, Times
Free Press (Feb. 4, 2021), https://bit.ly/2S1YsKT.
27
Michelle Heron, Records shed light on deputies' backgrounds after excessive force allegations, WRCBtv (Aug. 1,
2019), https://bit.ly/3pZSdnz.
28
Beth Burger, supra note 6.
29
Daniel Jackson, Tennessee Cop Accused of Groping Minors Faces Fourth Lawsuit, Courthouse News Service
(Nov. 6, 2019), https://bit.ly/35rOPrU.
30
Liam Stack, Tennessee Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted on 44 Charges, Including Rape and Stalking, The New York
Times (Dec. 11, 2019), https://nyti.ms/3wsOMrT.
31
Kelly Curtin, After wrong officer named, lawsuit against Collegedale Police pulled, News Channel 9 (Nov. 8,
2019), https://bit.ly/2U3d6lI.
32
WTVC Staff, Update: HCSO identifies deputy involved in shooting death of man on Signal Mountain, News
Channel 9 (Aug. 24, 2020), https://bit.ly/3zwwcRr (discussing incident where Eric Hayes Tyra was shot at during a
vehicle pursuit); Bliss Zechman, Family files wrongful death lawsuit against Hamilton Co. deputy, government,
News Channel 9 (May 10, 2021), https://bit.ly/3gwrvjp.
 Highway 58. Officer Kilpatrick was the driver.33

3. Hamilton County Sheriff’s Officers, under the leadership of Sheriff Jim

Hammond, targets and threatens vulnerable populations. There are multiple
accounts of victims being assaulted both physically and sexually after being pulled over
for broken tail lights or tinted windows. After an incident where minors were pulled
over for tinted windows, told to leave their phones in the car because they could not call
their parents, strip searched and fondled after standing two hours in the rain (and were
told a female officer wasn’t necessary when one of them questioned a male officer strip
searching her),34 HCSO officers showed up at the high school of one of the victims,
interrogated and tried to coerce her to drop the case (without notifying the minor’s
parents they were talking to her), and when she refused to drop her claim, arrested her
for giving false testimony.35 An elderly man was shot 14 times and killed in his recliner
after his son made a mental health check.36 James Hilton Gaze was 71 years old, had
suffered a stroke days earlier and was unable to speak. James Mitchell, a Black man
pulled over for tinted windows, was beaten, raped, and falsely imprisoned by an HCSO
officer. Sheriff Hammond went on record to say he didn’t believe it was true. A
Soddy-Daisy woman was stalked and followed by an officer and after pulling her over
for no apparent reason, body searched her, including asking her to remove her bra,
fondled her, and then coerced her to be baptized.37 Charles Toney, Jr. a Black man, who
had an agreement with the prosecutor's office to turn himself in, was beaten while
handcuffed when a tactical force came to arrest him.38 In response to these “use of
force” incidents Sheriff Hammond suggested the issue was not having enough
“minority” officers, so he created a “Minority” Task force39 made up of clergy, officers,
and community members. When this task force began to look at policing policies,
Sheriff Hammond refused to communicate with them. Hammond has made death threats
to gang members as well as racist and xenophobic statements publily. "Run them out of
town, put them in jail or send them to the funeral home," he said of gang members.40
33
Zack Peterson, Hamilton County detective involved in video beating was previously accused of violence by
girlfriend, Times Free Press (Dec. 19, 2018), https://bit.ly/3vGHYpz.
34
Kiley Thomas, Attorney: Hamilton Co. deputy in federal lawsuit defends himself on NC9 Facebook page, News
Channel 9 (Oct. 18, 2019), https://bit.ly/3wxrqkX.
35
Id. (The mother of one of the minors involved in the incident called to report the incident with HCSO four times.
No one followed up with her so she could report, insead an officer was sent to the minor’s school to coerce the
minor to not report. When the minor reported, they arrested her for giving false testimony.).
36
WRCB Staff, UPDATE: Wife of man killed in 2019 deputy-involved shooting files $10 million lawsuit against
HCSO, WRCBtv (Sept. 15, 2020), https://bit.ly/3gwCYiR.
37
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County sheriff's deputies face $11 million lawsuit for allegedly forcing woman into
late-night baptism, Times Free Press (Oct. 1, 2019), https://bit.ly/2U1omz1.
See also, Rosana Hughes, Former Hamilton County deputy Daniel Wilkey admits to baptizing woman, claims it was
her idea, Times Free Press (Mar. 6, 2020), https://bit.ly/2S3hOPP.
38
The Associated Press, supra note 23.
39
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, Letter to Sheriff Hammond 02.14.21, available at https://bit.ly/3vygty0.
40
Beth Burger, Comment about gangs earns Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond praise, flak, Times Free Press
(Jan. 17, 2012), https://bit.ly/3cNnx3t.
 "Islam is communism with a god," Hammond said of Muslims.41

4. HCSO does not cooperate with criminal investigations into abuses by its officers as
they intentionally slow down investigations42 and/or deny lawyers and the District
Attorney access to evidence, including 15 months of dashcam video evidence that
implicate HCSO officers43 and could be used as evidence to convict HCSO
officers.44 DA Neal Pinkston said his office may have to dismiss some cases due to the
loss of this evidence in the HCSO’s server crash.45 The disappearance could change the
result of several lawsuits against HCSO. HCSO blamed two companies for the server’s
failure, but one of the companies, VMware, responded that the data loss was not the
result of a product defect by their company.46 The other company declined to comment.
Sheriff Hammond’s son, James “Jimi” Hammond, is in charge of the HCSO IT
Department. The erasure of this evidence has halted thorough investigations into alleged
misconduct by HCSO officers. Sheriff Hammond and HCSO officers have a history of
making public comments about victims’ claims of abuse from officers.47 There is even
an incident where HCSO officers mistakenly identified a victim, beat him, and realized
he was actually another HCSO officer. Officers within the department tried to coerce
him into not filing a complaint.48

5. Conditions in the Silverdale Detention Center, which is under the control of the
HCSO, have led to deaths and reports of severe neglect, abuse, and excessive use of
force. Operational Control of Silverdale Detention Center transferred to HCSO from
CoreCivic in January 2021. Since the transfer, conditions at Silverdale Detention Center
have only worsened. Family members and friends of those incarcerated report that
individuals are being refused food, phone calls, personal hygiene, essential medications,
41
Louie Brogdon, Hammond urging other Tennessee sheriffs to keep eye on Islamic activity, Times Free Press (Sept.
1, 2015), https://bit.ly/3zxybVO.
42
WTVC Staff, Sheriff on DA: "We are at war" after accusation HCSO is slowing down Wilkey investigation, News
Channel 9 (June 29, 2020), https://bit.ly/3j0nZiX.
43
Rosana Hughes, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office blames loss of dash-cam footage on vendors, Times Free Press
(July 2, 2020), https://bit.ly/3gvEh1q.
44
Riley v. Hamilton Cnty. Gov’t, et al., No. 1:19-cv-00304 (E.D. Tenn. Apr. 3, 2020), available at
https://bit.ly/3zHYQzo.
45
Mariah Rock, Hamilton Co. Sheriff's Office server crashes; 15 months of dashcam video evidence lost, News
Channel 9 (Feb. 29, 2020), https://bit.ly/3wxsIwj.
46
Rosana Hughes, supra note 43.
47
Kiley Thomas, supra note 34 (Officer Tyler McRae claims a woman’s testimony is false); see also Kiley Thomas,
Sheriff Hammond says he doesn't think deputies under investigation did body cavity search, News Channel 9 (July
15, 2019), https://bit.ly/3zu6ugy (Despite body camera footage showing two officers undressing a man on the side
of the road, Sheriff Jim Hammond said he didn’t believe the victim who said he was sexually assaulted).
48
Rosana Hughes, supra note 21 (“A beaten officer claimed the deputies tried to keep him from speaking out
about the incident, telling him ‘they were all brothers, man.’ He claimed they humiliated him by circulating a
departmentwide email that listed people — including the officer — who'd filed claims against the county. At the
time, the officer hadn't even filed a lawsuit. ‘The impact of the email stigmatized [the officer] within his department
as a person who was not a 'brother' as stated by the individual defendants and has subjected [him] to humiliation and
mental anguish,’ the lawsuit stated.”).
 and proper protective gear. There are also claims of excessive use of force, including the
use of mace and tasers.49 One incarcerated person said he had to “cause a scene” twice
before receiving medication for a potentially life threatening medication.50 HCSO
confirmed the use of a pepper ball gun. Despite overcrowding and lack of control within
the detention center, the county approved 200 additional bunks for new inmates,
ignoring threats of overcrowding, poor conditions, and COVID-19 risks. Former and
current staff have anonymously confirmed these reports to the press, citing deplorable
conditions, psychiatric medications not being given to inmates, and patterns of neglect
and abuse that have escalated under HCSO operational control.51 Criminal Court Judge
Don Poole released one incarcerated person after evidence demonstrated that the man
was not receiving his medication even after HCSO regained control of the detention
center.52 HCSO General Counsel Coty Wamp responded to this incident, claiming that
board certified medical doctors and personnel seek to provide 24/7 care to all people in
HCSO custody, implying that the incarcerated person refused his medication. A
Silverdale health official acknowledged that the facility had none of the required forms
from the incarcerated person that would indicate he refused medication.

Conclusion

The continuous trauma inflicted on Black and marginalized citizens of Hamilton County by the
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is unacceptable. Sheriff Hammond and the HCSO continue
to assert willingness to “sit down” with clergy, organizers, and the community at large to
resolve the numerous incidents of misconduct within the department. However, Sheriff Jim
Hammond and the HCSO have declined every one of our requests in recent months and shown
no interest in engaging in any meaningful way with clergy,53 the community, or the US
Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service. Moreover, HCSO continues its
troubling pattern of refusing to hold its officers accountable for breaking the law and using
excessive force against our citizens.54 The DOJ must pursue a pattern and practice investigation
of HCSO to ensure full and real accountability. Until the DOJ mandates and oversees the
effective implementation of major structural changes within the department, the most
vulnerable in the Hamilton County community — people of color, low-income people, and
people with disabilities — will not be safe from those sworn to protect and serve us.

49
HCSO Press Conference Planned Today Amidst Rising Resident Concerns About Conditions At Silverdale, The
Tennessee Conservative (Jan. 12, 2021), https://bit.ly/3cN3jqJ.
50
Rosana Hughes, Silverdale inmate said he had to 'cause a scene' twice before receiving medication for potentially
deadly pre-existing condition, Times Free Press (Jan. 10, 2021), https://bit.ly/35uuUc8.
51
The Tennessee Conservative, supra note 49.
52
Rosana Hughes, Inmate allowed home confinement after complaining of health conditions at Silverdale jail, Times
Free Press (Jan. 27, 2021), https://bit.ly/3q1aQaA.
53
Chattanooga Clergy for Justice, supra note 5.
54
WRCB Chattanooga, UPDATE: Three Hamilton County commissioners call for firing of Detective Blake
Kilpatrick (Dec. 20, 2018), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju2lpFkwMPk.
Sincerely,

Chattanooga Clergy for Justice

CALEB (Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equality and Benevolence)
Chattanooga Democratic Socialists of America
Tennessee Poor People’s Campaign
Tennessee United