Steve Everett, son of past Soddy Daisy Police Chief Doug Everett, charged at the Soddy Daisy Commission meeting Thursday night that a culture has developed in the police force that supports the use of unnecessary force.
Mr. Everett said he has many lifelong friends in the police department and government in Soddy Daisy - many that he has known all his life. A lot of those on the police force are good people doing a good jo,b he said, but he has concerns with things that are going on.
There is a problem when people mistreat other people, he said.
The incident he was referring to happened in June 2019 when a resident of the city was pulled over and Soddy Daisy Police Officer Jon Rhan allegedly used excessive force while the man was handcuffed.
A video exists which some of the commissioners have seen.
That officer was put on administrative leave, but was still allowed to work a criminal scene during that time, claimed Mr. Everett, when evidence was lost from an investigation. Rhan was also permitted the use of a patrol car until last week. There should have been an internal affairs investigation by the police chief and city manager, he said. “Administrators aren’t doing their jobs. There is a failure in training and supervision in the police department,” he said. “I am an advocate for the police department,” said Mr. Everett, “but not now. It’s a mess. I can’t believe swift quick actions weren’t taken knowing what the guy did, and we let him keep working.”
On advice of City Attorney Sam Elliott, commissioners had no response.
An attorney involved in the case earlier said Rhan "assaulted the defendant in the criminal case and threw him to the ground while he was handcuffed behind his back. He lied in the affidavit of complaint, said the defendant was hiding from him then resisting, Rahn didn’t know that there was a video. After reviewing the video, the DA’s office eventually dismissed the case. Then, knowing why the case had been dismissed, the officer took the case to the grand jury and got an indictment which was summarily dismissed by the DA."
The attorney said, "Although the citizen 'only' suffered a broken rib, his head narrowly missed hitting some steps."
The citizen, William Justin Byrum, is suing Rhan in Federal Court.