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Top police brass weigh results of Melvin false arrest probe

Lights flashing, Chattanooga police officers prepare to hop out of their cruiser to enforce a law. (Photo Wrcbtv.com) The legwork in the investigation of Chattanooga policeman David Campbell is complete, apparently without interviews of witnesses who saw him arrest Hanson Melvin on May 29 at his Hixson apartment complex. “It’s still in investigation,” Lt. Pedro […]

Like horizontal ‘smoke stacks,’ jets streak city’s sky, lay new smog

Jet emissions crisscross over my house, a new thin white beam seeming to intersect with another that’s becoming a cloud. (Photo David Tulis) From white turds to new clouds, jet emissions over Chattanooga on this second of three straight days are marked by frequent interruptions in the spray pattern. As seen from a Soddy-Daisy credit […]

Man refuses to bow; judge, prosecutor toss busted case

Hanson Melvin is in a cheerful mood outside the Hamilton County courts building in Chattanooga after having his case dismissed. (Photo David Tulis) A black pedestrian was cleared today of criminal charges that he caused a public disturbance when he stood his ground against police demands he produce a driver license and tell his social […]

Charges against an innocent man dismissed, to be expunged

Hanson Melvin is in a cheerful mood outside the Hamilton County courts building in Chattanooga after having his case dismissed. (Photo David Tulis) A black pedestrian was cleared today of criminal charges that he caused a public disturbance when he stood his ground against police demands he produce a driver license and tell his social […]

Witness says Melvin did not raise voice during arrest

Donna Robertson is a defense witness in the state’s case against “walking while black” defendant Hanson Melvin. (Photo David Tulis) The case against Melvin Hanson pits a report by a Chattanooga cop, David Campbell, against the word of defendant Hanson Melvin and a group of witnesses such as Donna Robertson. Mrs. Robertson lives across the […]

Cop Campbell makes man ‘fear for my life’ in 2012 traffic stop

Hanson Melvin waits in the Hamilton County criminal court clerk’s office for a copy of his indictment. (Photo David Tulis) Chattanooga police officer David Campbell, hounding a hapless but uppity black through the courts, has in his record a citizen complaint for abusive treatment. Officer Campbell is under investigation today by his department for what […]

Pinkston wins indictment in case in which cop perjures self

As people come and go, Hanson Melvin sits in the waiting room of district attorney Neal Pinkston’s office Wednesday, reading the indictment Mr. Pinkston won against him on a phony police report. (Photo David Tulis) Misled by bold fibbery in a police report, the Hamilton County grand jury has indicted Hanson Melvin, a father of […]