A woman from Hamilton County filed a lawsuit for $1.75 million. In this lawsuit, Nancy Mason, a 61-year-old woman, claims that six law enforcement officer used excessive force against her while she was in custody.
According to Nancy Mason, she cooperated with the law enforcement officers when they booked her on March 21, 2015 into the Hamilton County Jail. According to her, they patted her down, found no weapons, and began to take away her possessions. Nancy Mason refused to allow them to take her earrings and she told Sgt. Rodney Terrel that she would report the incident.
According to the lawsuit, Sgt. Rodney Terrell unholstered his taser and shot her without warning. Mason claims she fell to the floor and fractured one of her wrists in the process. As she was on the floor, Terrell still had the taser trained on the frail woman, according to the lawsuit. He then asked Terrell once more to give the earrings to them for safekeeping.
In the lawsuit, Nancy Mason claims that she was tazed after less than 25 seconds of talking to Sgt. Rodney Terrel. According to the lawsuit, the county has yet to take any action against Sgt. Rodney Terrell or the deputies for condoning the use of excessive force. Matt Lea from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office says the five deputies are on duty still. However, they have been assigned to the department’s Corrections Divisions.
According to Kyle Miller, who represents the Chattanooga Police Department, Nancy Mason made no complaints against Greg Tate, who is the police officer who initially arrested her. Mason was arrested for charges of theft of property of a value over $500. According to court records, Mason pleaded guilty and was put on house arrest for six months.
Robin Flores, Mason’s lawyer, declined to make a comment. The lawyer claimed that the lawsuit more than speaks for itself. The lawsuit claims that the city and county inadequately trained its law enforcement officers. The lawsuit mentions a few examples of abuse at the hands of law enforcement, such as the Adam Tatum case. The suit calls for a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages of at least $1.75 million.
