"Please Don't Do Me Like that." From [HERE] and [court order] Adam Tatum clutched a cane in his shackled hands as he shuffled into a Hamilton County General Sessions courtroom on Monday morning. The cane is a reminder of the leg injuries he suffered when Chattanooga police officers savagely beat him June 14 when they responded to a disorder call at the Salvation Army halfway house where Tatum was an inmate.
A video shows two large white officers beat Mr. Tatum, a Black man, so forcefully that they broke both of his legs in multiple places. There was no indication that he was resisting arrest or causing harm to himself or others. Nevertheless, the officers overreacted by grabbing him from behind in a choke hold and then hitting him mercilessly no less than 60 times while he sat helplessly on the ground. Then a gang of other officers, all white join in on the pouncing. [MORE]
Tatum, 37, appeared before Judge Christine Sell to have three of his assault convictions overturned. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault after he brandished a knife on a fellow inmate, Adrian McGhee. Tatum was sentenced to six months with credit for time served.
"I appreciate it," Tatum said in a soft voice as he turned and shook his attorney's hand.
Robin Flores, Tatum's attorney, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was granted Monday morning by Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman.
Steelman returned the case to Sessions Court after Hamilton County Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston and Flores agreed it was unclear that Tatum knew what he was pleading to.
"The District Attorney's Office concedes the post-conviction petition should be granted because the petitioner's plea was unknowingly and involuntary. This concession is based upon apparent inadequate notice to the petitioner as to the identity of the victims he was pleading guilty to assaulting," the order states.
Tatum was arrested June 14 when former Chattanooga Police Officers Sean Emmer and Adam Cooley went to the Salvation Army after reports that Tatum was kicking a door of the office.
Salvation Army video shows Tatum being savagely beaten by Emmer and Cooley. Officers took a knife from Tatum early on during the scuffle. They initially did not know Tatum was armed. They continued to beat him with batons and their fists. He also was sprayed with Mace and stunned a few times with a stun gun. Tatum suffered six fractures to his right leg and two fractures to his left leg, including a compound fracture.
In July, Tatum was sentenced to 11 months, 29 days on two counts of assault on an officer and two counts of assault. He has been incarcerated at Silverdale Correctional Facility.
Tatum still has 55 days left to serve on his federal sentence for a robbery charge. It's unclear whether he will receive credit for time served.
"It's possible he could go home tomorrow," Flores said.
Emmer and Cooley were fired, but they are asking an administrative law judge to order they get their jobs back. The hearing is set for April 4.
The city also faces a $50 million lawsuit filed by Flores on Tatum's behalf.