Opponent questions Catoosa County sheriff candidate's past

In 1990, when Larry Black was a lieutenant with the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office, he ordered a deputy to shoot a knife-wielding suspect in the leg.

The man's leg had to be amputated and, in 1994, a federal court jury faulted Black and the two deputies involved and awarded the man $250,000 in damages.

As Tuesday's run-off election for the Catoosa sheriff seat nears, Black -- the top vote-getter in the primary with almost twice as many votes as his closest opponent Gary Sisk -- is having that settlement and other specifics from his record brought to light.

On Aug. 10 someone anonymously faxed background information about Black to area media outlets, including the Times Free Press, which did its own check into both men's personnel files.

And at a Ringgold, Ga., Republican Party forum on the race Monday night, one resident asked Black and Sisk why they left their last jobs.

Sisk recently sent a mailer challenging alleged "holes" in Black's employment history, including the accusation that Black's decade in private industry doesn't count toward what Black says is 35 years of law enforcement experience.

Read More. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)