The Southeast Regional Director of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers said local police officers "have lost confidence" in new Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy after her actions involving 13 current city police officers.
Vincent L. Champion said the officers who were taken off enforcement duties for past indiscretions have now been punished twice for the same matter and were not given any chance at appeal.
He said, "First and foremost, we want to say thank you to the community members of Chattanooga who have shown support to all the officers who have been directly affected by the recent events in the department.
We also want to say thank you for the support of our IBPO members at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
"We, as the IBPO, in no way condone untruthfulness. None of these officers have been found guilty of untruthfulness. None of these officers did anything egregious to warrant termination. In light of these recent actions, we believe that our officers have been treated unfairly and have been disciplined a second time for past sustained allegations. We have spoken to the executive staff, Chief Murphy, and reached out to the city attorney's office as well as city HR with no response. We are hoping to work towards a resolution.
"Again, these officers have been punished a second time for past actions. Chief Murphy has made this decision without gathering the needed information to handle it correctly. She had circumvented the well-established process to make an informed determination. Chief Murphy continues to make ill-informed decisions, creating an environment where our members have lost confidence in her leadership abilities. With the support of over 500 Law Enforcement officers throughout Hamilton County we will continue to push for a resolution, and we will not tolerate how she has treated our members."