By Tabitha Evans Moore
Editor & Publisher
MONTEAGLE, Tenn. — A Monteagle business owner has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the town’s police chief — who is currently seeking election as Moore County Sheriff — alleging unlawful arrest, excessive force, conspiracy, and retaliation stemming from a dispute over an unpaid auto repair bill last fall.
The lawsuit, filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Chattanooga, names Monteagle Police Chief William Raline, Monteagle Police Sgt. Alhafiz Ibn Karteron, Treva Baker, and the Town of Monteagle as defendants.
The allegations in the complaint are unproven, and the defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court. The Times reached out to Raline on Monday afternoon for comment, and he did not respond to the request.
The Arrest
According to the complaint, the dispute began September 15, 2025, when plaintiff Rodney Lynn Kilgore, owner of Monteagle Truck and Tire and Monteagle Wrecker Service, called Monteagle police after a customer named Henry Mouton refused to pay for repair work on a semi-tractor trailer.
The complaint alleges that Karteron, responding to the call, phoned Raline for guidance. According to the lawsuit, Raline directed Karteron to tell Kilgore the matter was civil in nature, and ordered Karteron to arrest Kilgore for false imprisonment if he refused to release the vehicle.
Kilgore’s attorney argues that Tennessee law — specifically a mechanic’s lien statute — gave Kilgore the legal right to retain the vehicle until the bill was paid. The complaint notes that a General Sessions Court judge later dismissed the false imprisonment charge, finding no probable cause. A Marion County grand jury subsequently declined to indict Kilgore on related vandalism and resisting arrest charges.
The lawsuit also alleges that while Kilgore was handcuffed in the back of Karteron’s patrol car — “with the heater running on a hot day” — Karteron later physically abused him without justification, tightening his handcuffs and shoving him forcefully into the vehicle. Bodycam footage, the complaint states, contradicted Karteron’s account of the incident at a subsequent court hearing.
A Second Charge — and an Alleged Lie
The complaint further alleges that the day after Kilgore’s arrest, Baker — who the lawsuit says lives with Karteron but is not his wife — told a Marion County Sheriff’s deputy that Kilgore had approached and frightened her at a food truck where she worked. According to the lawsuit, Karteron falsely told the deputy that Baker was his wife, a legally significant claim because the charge they sought — felony retaliation for past action — required the alleged victim to be a spouse.
Based on those statements, the lawsuit alleges, a warrant was issued for Kilgore’s arrest on the felony charge. That charge was dismissed by the State of Tennessee on January 6, 2026, before a hearing could be held, according to the filing.
The complaint alleges that Karteron later used the no-contact order obtained through those proceedings to bar Kilgore from attending a November 2025 Monteagle Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, threatening him with arrest if he entered.
Questions About Karteron’s Background
The lawsuit also raises questions about Raline’s oversight of Karteron. According to the complaint, a Board member raised concerns in October 2025 about a letter from the Murfreesboro Police Department indicating Karteron had been terminated from that agency. The complaint alleges the termination stemmed from Karteron’s failure to disclose during the MPD hiring process that he had originally been charged with aggravated assault — a Class C felony — and had served 90 days in jail. The assault victim, the complaint states, required helicopter evacuation to Vanderbilt Hospital.
The lawsuit alleges Raline defended Karteron’s continued employment at the October meeting, attributing the prior charge’s resolution to an expungement.
Separately, the complaint states that multiple residents raised concerns at a February 2026 Board meeting about difficulty filing misconduct complaints with the Monteagle Police Department, with one resident saying that speaking to Raline about complaints was like “talking with that camera there.”
The Lawsuit’s Claims and Damages Sought
The complaint brings 10 counts against the defendants, including violations of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments under federal civil rights law, as well as state law claims of malicious prosecution, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.
Kilgore seeks compensatory damages totaling millions of dollars and punitive damages against the individual defendants. The case has been assigned to the Chattanooga division of the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Raline is listed as a candidate for Moore County Sheriff and will appear on the upcoming Moore County primary ballot.
Court records show Raline was formally served with the lawsuit Monday at the Monteagle Police Department. The defendants have not yet filed responses to the complaint. As with all civil lawsuits, the allegations represent one side’s account and have not been proven in court.
At Monday’s Monteagle Board of Mayor and Aldermen, a motion to fire Karteron from the Monteagle Police Department failed by a vote of 3-2.
This is an ongoing story that The Times will update as new information is available. •
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