Preliminary figures from the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Chattanooga District indicate that State Troopers investigated 29 traffic crashes with zero fatalities during the 2012 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Coffee County from last Wednesday through Monday. State Troopers issued 347 moving violation citations and responded to 534 motorist assist calls.
The THP sends officers from each district to work in Manchester during Bonnaroo.

Toby

A follow-up to a story we brought you yesterday about a Coffee County Animal Control worker accused of allegedly shooting and killing a dog without following proper procedure:
Animal Control officer Charlie Brown filed a police report with the Manchester Police Department concerning the dog’s owner, Bryan Pennington. The report of intimidation states that Pennington and Brown had a verbal altercation Tuesday morning. Brown says in the report that Pennington made “threats to do bodily injury” to Brown. The animal control officer says Pennington said he would “beat him up” and told him “this is small town and you can’t hide”.
One local media oulet falsely reported that Pennington was charged in the case, but according to Manchester Police Commissioner Ross Simmons, NO charges have been filed.
Pennington told WMSR News that he does not want to see Brown lose his job. His hope is that the Coffee County Animal Control will reconsider the way they euthanize animals by not shooting them.
The Coffee County Animal Control falls under the county government’s Health and Welfare Department and is funded by the county. A committee will meet Monday (June 18) on the issue of the dog being killed beginning at 5pm.

The U.S. Department of Justice has conveyed to the State of Tennessee approximately 1000 acres of undeveloped land on Short Mountain in Cannon County.
The land, located in Woodbury, will be managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and known as the Headwaters Wildlife Management Area. As a critical habitat for plant and animal species and containing the headwaters for three Tennessee watersheds, the land will be open to the public for small game hunting, hiking, and wildlife viewing. The Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division coordinated the transfer.
This land was forfeited to the United States as part of the 2007 federal criminal convictions of Morris Roller and Jeffory Carl Young for distribution of marijuana. The transfer was made under a law that allows the Justice Department to convey forfeited property to states for public use for recreation or conservation purposes. The federal criminal investigation leading to the forfeiture of this property was assisted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission; Warren County Sheriff’s Department; Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department; and Chattanooga Police Department.
A dedication ceremony for the land took place yesterday. (June 13, 2012)

An investigation is underway in Grundy County into an officer-involved shooting. Richard Fults was at a friend’s house when deputies arrived there to serve a warrant. Authorities say that Fults attacked the deputies with a knife, so an officer fired and hit Fults. He was airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center.
The names of the officers involved have not yet been released, which is standard procedure.