Chris Wooten, a former Trion Police Department officer and member of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force (LMJC), was arrested on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, and charged with Aggravated Battery (Felony) and Violation of Oath of Office (Felony) following an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

The arrest stems from an incident on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, when Wooten and another LMJC Drug Task Force agent attempted to stop a motorcycle north of Trion near Ridgeway Road. The motorcycle fled, leading to a pursuit that ended on Wade Drive off Mahan Road. According to Chattooga County Sheriff Mark A. Schrader, deputies responding to the scene arrived after the motorcycle had been stopped and the agents were attempting to arrest the driver. Upon arrival, deputies assisted in restraining the driver. However, both deputies reported to their supervisors that they witnessed what they believed to be excessive force used by Wooten against the suspect after he was in handcuffs.

Sheriff Schrader immediately launched an internal review. “As a result of speaking with them, reviewing the reports, gathering other information related to this incident and speaking with the agent’s employer, I contacted the GBI Region One Office in Calhoun and requested that they assign an agent to investigate this incident,” Schrader stated. Following a two-week investigation, the GBI secured an arrest warrant for Wooten. He was booked into the Chattooga County Jail on Wednesday and subsequently released on a $20,000 bond issued by the Superior Court. Sheriff Schrader condemned Wooten’s alleged actions, emphasizing the importance of responsible and proportional use of force by law enforcement. “Law Enforcement officers are required to use force in the performance of their sworn duties,” Schrader explained. “Typically, the use of physical force is the last option used to arrest an individual. Law Enforcement officers are trained to use only the reasonable amount of force necessary to effectuate an arrest. The public places trust in law enforcement to hold to these standards. The issues concerning this incident are outside of those standards, intolerable and should never happen.”

Sheriff Schrader praised his deputies for reporting the incident and thanked Trion Police Chief David Gilleland, along with the Commander and Deputy Commander of the Drug Task Force, for their cooperation and commitment to ensuring the situation was handled appropriately. The case remains under investigation by the GBI.