Hamilton County joining safety efforts in downtown
Hamilton County’s mayor and sheriff are joining Chattanooga’s efforts at curbing violence downtown after the late September shooting of a local businessman.
Chris Wright, 38, was shot and killed Sept. 28 at the intersection of Market and 11th streets, police said.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office will assign deputies to support Chattanooga police officers in the city’s downtown business district, which officials called the “regional hub of tourism and commerce,” according to a news release Tuesday.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly announced the city’s planned public safety measures Monday, including continued increased police presence downtown, an expanded video surveillance network and a public safety commission tasked with making policy recommendations.
Sheriff Austin Garrett and county Mayor Weston Wamp met with District Attorney Coty Wamp, Kelly and Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy on Monday morning to discuss collaboration, the release said.
“You can expect to see an increased presence of my deputies in and around the downtown area, and more specifically, the downtown business district as we work together to enhance safety and deter issues,” Garrett said in the release. “We are at our best and most successful when we work together in service to our community.”
The county mayor said he hopes the partnership will strengthen public safety in the wake of Wright’s homicide. In a social media post after the shooting, Wamp warned residents to be cautious and avoid being alone downtown, saying Chattanooga has a “dangerous criminal element.”
“I commend the sheriff for stepping in to increase the presence of law enforcement downtown so that both locals and those visiting Chattanooga feel as safe as possible,” Wamp said in Tuesday’s release.