Garry Chapman, the son of Dog the Bounty Hunter, is one of several Alabama cops who who punched, kicked, tasered and hooded a 39-year-old Black man named John Scott Jr. suffering a mental health crisis earlier this year, according to a lawsuit filed last month.
One week after Scott’s mother filed the lawsuit, the 24-year-old Priceville cop pursued a suspected drunk driver into another town who then struck another car, killing a 17-year-old boy and injuring three other teenagers that were also in the car.
Now Chapman has been placed on paid administrative leave from the Priceville Police Department as he is investigated for the pursuit that took place on Saturday, leading to the death of Tristan Hollis and the injury of three of his friends.
And an Alabama Republican legislator is calling for stricter guidelines for police when it comes to high-speed pursuits in order to protect innocent bystanders.
“We have a loss of life, and the accused may have a small bag of marijuana or something,” Senator Arthur Orr said Monday, according to local media. “It does not compute for innocent bystanders or motorists to lose their lives when we are pursuing low-level infractions.”
However, some states that have enacted such restrictions have rolled back such restrictions.
And police departments that have implemented such policies have seen the policies ignored by officers, resulting in innocent people killed, including a 10-year-old Black girl, resulting in an $80 million settlement from the Chicago Police Department earlier this year as well as a 12-year-old Black girl killed when Georgia state police were pursuing a man for speeding.
The driver of the vehicle that killed Hollis, Archie Hale, is accused of running a red light at a high rate of speed when he struck the van that Hollis was riding in, killing Hollis and injuring his three friends while injuring himself and his passenger.
Hale was released from a hospital on Sept. 11 and booked into the Morgan County Jail on murder charges, local station WAFF reported.
The 40-year-old man was already on probation for drug possession and has a long list of prior offenses dating back ten years for theft, drugs and eluding police, the Hartselle Enquirer reported.
“It doesn’t seem like the justice system has taught him a lesson anywhere,” Hartselle Police Chief Alan McDearmond told the Hartselle Enquirer.
Recent Lawsuit
The lawsuit filed on Aug. 29 by the mother of John Scott Jr., Paulette Tennison, accuses Chapman and other officers from other agencies of violating her son’s Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, assault and battery, and wrongful death on the night of April 15 in the city of Decatur after she called them for help, telling dispatchers her son was off his medication.
The claim states that officers from the Decatur Police Department and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office responded along with Chapman who works for the Priceville Police Department which patrols a city less than ten miles from Decatur.
A 28-minute body camera video released by Decatur police shows Scott engaging with police and paramedics in a civil conversation for more than 13 minutes before they decided to arrest him for failing to appear in court in 2021 for a speeding ticket.
The cops grabbed his arms to handcuff him, and he fell to the ground and began panicking, complaining about his neck.
The cops became more aggressive, ordering him to turn over, and he responded, “I’m trying,” while repeatedly apologizing, saying, “I’m sorry.”
Then they began tasering him while ordering him to turn around and place his back, and he kept telling them he was trying to do so.
At least one cop had his knee on his back, making it difficult for him to abide by their orders. Then one cop started punching him.
As the cops struggled to place him in the car after handcuffing him, Scott repeatedly told the cops, “I can’t breathe.”
“You can breathe,” one cop responded. “Stand up!”
Sott’s mother was also pleading with officers, “stop punching him!”
Scott was pronounced dead at a local hospital one week later.
“Both before and after handcuffing decedent, John Scott Jr., and placing him in ankle irons, defendant Garry Chapman kicked, punched, tazed, battered, hooded and bludgeoned Mr. Scott Jr., causing him great pain, anguish, suffering, injury and ultimately death,” the claim states.
“Defendant Garry Chapman made certain statements for those in close proximity to hear regarding his actions including statements that admitted to hitting and beating decedent, John Scott Jr.”
However, the mayor of Priceville, Sam Heflin, is claiming that Chapman was not involved in the death of John Scott Jr, telling local media that he “was falsely named in that suit and will be dropped out of it soon.”
“Officer Chapman was never at the scene or involved at all.”
Watch the video below.
Families Mourning Innocent Lives
Whether Chapman was at the scene or not, the disturbing video once again shows how the United States deals with people with mental illness, brutalizing and suffocating them because they “did not comply” — when the main reason police were called is that the person was not acting in the right frame of mind, which makes it difficult to comply with barking contradictory orders by armed government agents.
And whether Hale was driving drunk and placing innocent people at risk when Chapman tried to pull him over, pursuing him at a high rate of speed into another town places even more innocent people at risk.
Now it was a 17-year-old high school student with his whole life ahead of him that was killed. Hollis is described in his obituary as a hard-working teen who spent his free time working out and playing video games. His family has launched a GoFundMe for funeral expenses and time off work for his mother which has raised $9,060 as of this writing.
“He was a very polite young man and loved sweet treats,” the obituary states.
His mother issued a statement asking people to pray for all involved in what she described as a “senseless, horrific accident,” including Hale.
“Please pray for all the young men that were involved in this accident,” she said.
“Also, I ask for everyone to pray for the man, Archie Brandon Hale, that killed my sweet, precious son. Yes, he selfishly and maliciously took my son’s life, but in the end, my son is in a far better place than what is about to be bestowed amongst him.”
Scott’s death also left friends and family devastated who referred to him by his nickname, “LJ,”mourning the loss of whom they describe a good man and loving father in his obituary. His family also launched a GoFundMe earlier this year that has raised $14,805 as of this writing.
“LJ, you were more than just family- you were a light, a fighter, and a soul that left an imprint on everyone lucky enough to know you,” stated R. Eric Davis, one of more than 20 people who left comments memorializing the father of five in his obituary.
“I’ll carry your memory with me always, and I pray your spirit finds peace even as ours search for answers. You deserved better, and we won’t stop speaking your name. Rest easy, LJ, you are forever loved.”
