PRICEVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Priceville Police Department posted on social media that the officer named in a wrongful death lawsuit was not involved in the April arrest of John Scott Jr.
PPD posted that as it maintains prayers for the victims, families and all those impacted by the deadly Hartselle wreck Saturday night, Chief Jerry Holmes said he wanted to respond to recent reports concerning the involvement of Officer Garry Chapman in the arrest and detention of John Scott Jr.
“While allegations have been made to that effect in a recently filed lawsuit, those allegations are false,” the chief wrote.
Holmes said that while it is true that an officer of the Priceville Police Department was present in the Morgan County Jail at the time that Scott was being processed in the jail, he was there solely to process a PPD arrestee.
“Priceville’s officer was not involved in any way in the arrest or the detention of Mr. Scott, either at the site of his arrest, or at the Morgan County Jail,” Holmes wrote.
Chapman is named in the 109-page wrongful death lawsuit for Scott, who died a week after a violent arrest in April.
Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin confirmed that Officer Garry Chapman, son of Dog the Bounty Hunter, was placed on leave following the chase that killed 17-year-old Tristan Hollis and injured three others in the vehicle over the weekend.
Heflin reiterated Tuesday that this is standard procedure for any officers involved in a major incident.
An internal investigation is being conducted by Priceville Police as well, and Holmes said it will take some time to complete.
Several businesses are raising funds for the families of all four teens involved in the crash. You can find more information on those fundraisers here.
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