CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — The City of Chattanooga has reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was shot 14 times and killed by police at a Speedway gas station in August 2023.
The city will pay $180,000 to the five children of Roger Heard.
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In August 2023, officers fatally shot Roger Heard Jr. at a gas station on East 3rd Street while attempting to serve an arrest warrant.
Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp released footage of the incident, which placed three officers on leave, including one who was injured.
Video from a TBI report shows an officer stepping out of his patrol car and immediately firing at Heard, who fell to the ground.
DA Wamp stated that officers approached Heard’s vehicle in unmarked cars but wore visible badges. Heard then fired several shots at one officer.
That officer, Celtain Batterson, was later decertified by the Tennessee POST Commission.
An autopsy confirmed that Heard was shot 14 times.
Heard’s parents criticized the number of shots fired, calling the use of force excessive.
Family spokesman Ryan Julison described the incident:
“Mr. Heard was pulling away from a gas pump at a crowded Speedway gas station on East 3rd Street in Chattanooga when an unmarked police car blocked his vehicle. A plainclothes police officer wearing a tactical belt got out and rushed him with a gun, and the officer’s claim that he was wearing a badge and identified himself has not been independently confirmed. That officer and other officers appear to exchange gunfire with Mr. Heard and, in the exchange, both the officer and Mr. Heard were shot. Then, as Mr. Heard lay wounded on the ground with his gun out of reach, the officer kept shooting, emptying his clip and killing Mr. Heard.”
In a statement on the settlement, Chattanooga Attorney Phillip Noblett said:
“There was no objection to this settlement which was announced during the council meeting and the attorneys are preparing documents to finalize this matter in court currently. This settlement will resolve all claims by all parties against the City of Chattanooga and Officer Batterson after final documents are filed with the court which will be a public record. Attorneys are limited in comments in pending litigation matters in Federal Court by Local Rule 83.2.”
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