CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee.— A Chattanooga City Council member proposed an ordinance that would provide protections for program administrators who intervene in violent situations at local community centers.

On Tuesday we spoke with an employee at one of these community centers who says these protections are necessary since, unfortunately, fights are not uncommon.

“We have been asking for guards to work in the centers for years and years.”

For 30 years, Antonio Boston says community centers have been a part of his life. He currently works as a volunteer coordinator for the Avondale Recreation Center.

According to Boston, workers at these centers have not been protected for too long.

“City employers have been losing their jobs. I know three of them who lost their jobs trying to break up the fights over the recreation center.”

From now on, program directors must call the police in case of any fight or threat of mass violence.

Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod hopes to change that. She says that in the past, members of the show have been fired for breaking up fights.

She says that while CPD responds quickly, those precious first minutes have deadly consequences if something goes wrong.

“At what point will it be too late to say, ‘Man, if we had just kept going and put something in its place…’ We’ve lost too many bodies.”

Coonrod proposed an ordinance that would give program administrators the authority to intervene when there are threats of violence, whether on or off the property.

That includes breaking up physical altercations.

Boston says no matter what new rules are implemented, all he cares about is ensuring community centers are safe for current and future generations.

“We’ve been asking the community to feel safe. Some people can’t even go downtown because they’re not safe.”

Coonrod is seeking input from program administrators before requesting a city council vote on the ordinance.