NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Davidson County Grand Jury indicted decommissioned Metro Nashville Police officer Nathan Glass on a second-degree murder charge in the deadly shooting of De'Angelo Knox in Oct. 2018.
Glass was working at the Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden as security the night Knox was shot. He was not yet an officer with the department.
Metro Nashville Police officials said Knox was in one of two vehicles that opened fire on each other at West Eastland and McFerrin Avenue. During the incident, Knox's vehicle crashed. Glass shot Knox as Knox moved toward him with a gun in his hand, according to police.
However, Knox's family and attorney Joy Kimbrough say they have evidence suggesting otherwise. Kimbrough says he wasn't hit in the initial shootout and tried to drive around the car in front of him, crashing into a parked car. Knox ran away from the scene, passing the Pharmacy, but that's when, his attorney says, Glass opened the Pharmacy Burger door and shot Knox in the back of the head.
Kimrough says Knox's back was turned to Glass when he was shot, and security footage disputes Glass' claim that Knox ran toward him with a gun.
At the time of the shooting, Glass was scheduled to be part of the training academy class that began on October 16, 2018. But police officials say Glass' entry into the academy was halted due to the shooting incident and the continuing investigation.
The investigation into the shooting late January of 2019. And the District Attorney’s Office concluded Glass would not be prosecuted in Feb. of 2019, according to a letter from Assistant District Attorney Pam Anderson.
Glass was admitted to the MNPD Academy on March 16, 2019, and graduated on August 6, 2019.
The family filed a civil lawsuit, asking for $15 million. And a couple of months later in Oct., the NAACP held a press conference, bringing attention to the case. In the press conference, the NAACP referenced social media posts made by Glass in 2013. Glass was decommissioned pending an Office of Professional Accountability investigation into the posts. MNPD officials said they had no knowledge of the posts prior to Glass' hiring.
Last week, District Attorney Glenn Funk notified MNPD Chief John Drake that he was reviewing the 2018 shooting case. Glass was indicted Thursday afternoon and surrendered to police. He remains on "decommissioned" status.
