Chattanooga Officer Tells His Side on Assault Complaint

We have a follow up to a story we brought you Friday about a Chattanooga police officer involved in a scuffle at a Wal-Mart in Collegedale.

But first, a correction: we reported on Friday that Officer Ralph Kenneth Freeman was charged with a crime. That is not the case. The greeter who had the run-in with Freeman has actually *filed a complaint*, seeking that charges be filed. The greeter's sworn statement has been given to a judge, but no action has been taken.

For the first time since this story was reported, Officer Freeman's attorney is telling his side of the story.

Freeman's lawyer Stuart Brown says his client hasn't been charged with assault, and is confident he won't be charged. He says the video and evidence show that the greeter's claims have no basis.
 
This all stems from an incident at the Collegedale Wal-Mart Christmas Eve. According to the reports, Officer Freeman and another off-duty Chattanooga Police officer were walking out of the store, when the alarm sounded.

The greeter reportedly told Freeman to stop and grabbed him on the arm.

Wal-Mart has not responded to our requests wanting to know whether it is customary, or part of a greeter's duties to grab someone.

The report goes on to state that Freeman was confident the alarm was sounding for a different customer, and not him, so he turned around and told the greeter "don't be putting your hands on me."  Then, according to the report Freeman pushed the greeter with his left palm.

Lawyer Stuart Brown says as far as he is concerned, the case is resolved and Freeman does not plan to file a complaint against Wal-Mart or the employee.

"It turned out to be totally frivolous," Brown says. "If it wasn't frivolous, the police would have pursued it. Instead, once you're accused of something, a lot of people assume you're guilty. In this case, that's totally inaccurate."

Brown says his client knows what he did was wrong but calls what the greeter did "an egregious mistake."

The Chattanooga Police Department's Internal Affairs division is investigating the claims. Freeman reportedly had a meeting with IA on Monday. The results of that meeting have not been released.