FAITH NEWS SERVICE – Thousands of complaints have been filed in the state of Tennessee against law enforcement officers using excessive force, with no end in sight.
On December 30, 2010, Christian missionary George Raudenbush was brutally beaten and barely escaped with his life. The individual responsible for the assault, Brian Millsaps, a City of Tellico Plains police officer.
According to public records, Mr. Millsaps has a past documented history of using excessive force, having federal complaints filed against him, was charged with theft of city property, as well as reckless operation of a police vehicle. He was discharged from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department for violation of department policy. Mr. Millsaps also has had three separate failed marriages during the course of his public rampage of abuse of authority.
What happens next is completely shocking. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department hires Brian Millsaps back and gives him a promotion! Mr. Raudenbush, as a result of the malicious attack is permanently physically disabled from head trauma and spinal injury. “I was attacked that night because I was bringing African American Youth Groups into Monroe County to perform mission work in the community, I was told to stop bringing in these groups by sheriff department officials and I didn’t.” See summary brief.
Mr. Raudenbush was convicted and spent time in prison as part of the campaign against him and his operation, which has since relocated to the Knoxville area.
Mr. Raudenbush petitioned Gov. Bill Haslam’s office in 2018 about the coverup and abuses in Monroe County. However, the Tennessee Board of Parole obstructed Mr. Raudenbush’s petition form reaching Gov. Haslam’s office according to the governor’s former chief legal counsel, Dwight Tarwater.
In August of 2019, Mr. Raudenbush again petitioned the governor’s office asking newly elected Gov. Bill Lee to hear his petition and conduct an investigation. No such investigation was conducted, according to Mr. Raudenbush. No relief was granted. See summary brief.
Representative Justin Amash of Michigan sent out a letter to his colleagues introducing the Ending Qualified Immunity Act to eliminate qualified immunity and restore Americans’ ability to obtain relief when police officers violate their constitutionally secured rights.
Mr. Raudenbush spends his days in physical therapy under the Americans with Disabilities Act and he continues helping others in his limited capacity.
“Yesterday, I spoke with Rebecca, Gov. Bill Lee’s General Counsels legal assistant,” Mr. Raudenbush says. “Rebecca assured me last year, that Governor Lee had received my petition for exoneration and the governor would be acting on it immediately. She expressed concerns about how the BOP handled my petition.”
Investigative reporter Sharon Rondeau at The Post & Email has extensively covered Mr. Raudenbush’s story since 2010.
CONTACT: George J Raudenbush III
865-228-9170
aym@aymissions.org
www.aymissions.org
