Chattanooga officer fired for using excessive force

<p>A Chattanooga police officer was fired after hearings revealed he used excessive force on two men whose arrests were videotaped last year.</p><p>Shane Webb was the second officer disciplined in the case after surveillance cameras showed he and other officers arresting Matthew Jones, 22, and Jason McCollum, 26, for an alleged speeding violation on Interstate 75 in Georgia on Sept. 11.</p><p>"Obviously this is not a positive thing for the individual or the department," Chattanooga Police Chief Steve Parks said Monday. "It doesn't mean he's a bad officer, but he did make bad choices."</p><p>Parks said other people also are still being investigated in the case.</p><p>In November, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reviewed surveillance video from a food store that showed the parking lot where officers caught up with Jones and McCollum. The video showed several unidentified officers kicking a handcuffed McCollum, the passenger, and hitting Jones.</p><p>In another video recording, from a camera mounted inside a Georgia State Patrol car, police shout profanities at the two Georgia men.</p><p>A review board charged that Webb used excessive force, treated a prisoner improperly, lied during an internal affairs investigation and failed to file proper reports relating to the pursuit, Parks said. Webb can appeal his dismissal to the Chattanooga City Council, the chief said.</p><p>A month after the videos were made public, Parks put officer Ray Brantis on a 28-day unpaid administrative leave and one year probation. His duties as a field training officer also were suspended, records show.</p><p>Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox in November dropped charges of resisting a stop, disorderly conduct, and public intoxication against McCollum. He has filed a $3.3 million federal lawsuit against Georgia and Chattanooga authorities he claimed were involved in the alleged beating, records show.</p><p>Jones pleaded guilty in November to evading arrest, but charges of assaulting police and resisting a stop were dismissed.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2866600)</p>