Photo Courtesy of the Atlanta Black Star
Michael James, a Black Tennessee truck driver, filed a lawsuit in May against the City of Chattanooga and several officers claiming that his civil rights were violated when he was wrongfully arrested after calling 911 after a white teenage girl crashed a car into a building.
According to the Black Atlanta Star, the suit names four white Chattanooga police officers Lance Hughes, Amanda Baldwin, Jonathan Watkins, and Sgt. John Doe, as defendants.
James and the occupants in the other car exchanged words at a red light when the minors in the car “flipped off” James. He then returned the gesture and told them he would call the police.
The occupants were identified as 14-year-old Ella Peters, who is white, and 16-year-old Kyalia Anderson, who is Black.
The car then ran off the road and hit a building on the property of Barn Nursery, which led James to call 911 to report the accident.
“So my call to 911 was a good deed on my part, especially when they crashed into the building, to make sure they were OK, and the people inside of the building that could’ve been injured,” James told TN Traffic Ticket last May. “I was offering assistance and rendering aid, but also to make sure who was driving was held accountable for it because they took off running.”
“The allegations don’t add up,” Mr. James said. “Sounds like false allegations to get out of what the person that was driving illegally that crashed into that building sounded like they were just trying to get out of the situation. Those are false statements. There is no reason for me to do that to two young girls. What I observed and witnessed them — driving recklessly — and noticed that the two individuals in the car, they were awfully young, so I thought the car was stolen, but also thought they were falsely intoxicated — I seen ’em driving recklessly,” he added.
The lawsuit specifies that officers didn’t perform a drug or alcohol test on nor question the underaged driver operating the vehicle without a license, insurance, and permission, nor did they search the car.
James was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault. He was later transported to the county jail for booking, where he faced an unlawful cavity search.
Meanwhile, the teen driver was not arrested and faced no criminal charges.
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According to the suit, James’ civil rights were violated during the incident, and the officers’ conduct of placing false information on the affidavit of complaint to press charges against James shows inadequate training on the part of the city of Chattanooga as well as proves he was treated differently because of his race.
James is seeking $450,000 in damages.