David Catchings
A Chattanooga major crimes detective has been arrested for the second time in three months.
David Catchings early Thursday morning was charged with domestic assault in an incident in which his mother-in-law said he struck her with an open hand to the face after coming in drunk.
He was charged in September with DUI and was placed on administrative leave.
The mother-in-law, Janet Ashford, said she woke up at 3 a.m. and found Catchings very intoxicated on her couch. She said Catchings had been drinking most of the night and drove his Dodge Charger twice to a Kangaroo station to buy beer.
She said he hit her after she told him to leave because the family could not handle him anymore.
She said she then grabbed his shirt and again told him to leave. She said he began yelling at her and calling her a liar.
Ms. Ashford said she told him she was calling the police. She said he responded, "Go ahead call the cops. They will believe me before they do you. I'm a cop."
She said she is "terrified of Catchings because of his profession and had thought about not calling the police for fear that nothing would be done to him."
Police said her nose was red and swollen and there was dried blood inside of her nose.
In the earlier incident, Sarah Creekmore, 30, was arrested along with him. She was charged with public intoxication and making a false police report. In the report, she was identified as the detective's girlfriend.
County Deputy Matthew Purvis said he received a report from a motorist who said a black Charger almost hit him head-on. He said the vehicle was weaving and almost hit other cars.
The caller said he followed the Charger to the parking lot of Lakewood Baptist Church on Hunter Road and waited for officers to arrive.
The deputy said Catchings identified himself as an officer and asked for help. The affidavit says, "He advised we were brothers and I should be arresting bad guys. He stated his aunt signs my paycheck and advised I was a rookie and I didn't know anything about police work."
Deputy Purvis said Catchings later "asked to try and work things out."
He said there was a strong odor of alcohol and both admitted drinking. Ms. Creekmore said she had had several beers. She said they had been to her house in Ooltewah. Neither could say where they were headed.
The report says Catchings failed field sobriety tests and refused to take a blood-alcohol test. His blood was later drawn after a warrant was obtained.
The deputy said Catchings stated that his wife would come to pick up his car.