Lawande Haggard
Police were called to disperse a crowd that gathered on E. 3rd Street early Saturday morning, and officers fired shots after there was gunplay in the area. Police also said that a Chattanooga Police officer was struck by a vehicle driven by Lawande Haggard.
Haggard, 29, was charged with aggravated assault on police, felony reckless endangerment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The Chattanooga Police Department responded at 3:03 a.m. to the 1300 block of East 3rd concerning a large gathering of people on the parking lot of Speedway.
Police responded to the location in order to assist with dispersing the crowd. While officers were on the scene, shots were fired across the street at the Dialysis Clinic parking lot.
Officers observed a man try to leave the parking lot in a gold Jeep Patriot. The officer was struck as he and other officers tried to stop the Jeep from leaving. Officers fired on the suspect vehicle due to the immediate life-threatening harm they were facing, it was stated. The officer who was hit was not seriously hurt.
Officers were able to follow Haggard and take him into custody.
After several interviews and investigation, Haggard was charged.
Haggard got an 80-month federal prison sentence in 2013 on drug-selling charges. The term was reduced to 60 months last year based on a guideline sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered and made retroactive by the United States Sentencing Commission.
Authorities have already taken action to revive his case in Federal Court.