NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A former Metro Police lieutenant, who worked for two years in MNPD's internal affairs division, has written a lengthy report alleging the many ways his former department is falling short.
Garet Davidson, who resigned from MNPD in January, wasn't available for an interview with NewsChannel 5 Friday, but posted a video from his podcast earlier this week, explaining why he decided to come forward. "I got to see how the proverbial sausage was made, and it wasn’t pretty," Davidson said on his podcast.
Davidson accused Metro Police of falling short on certain training benchmarks and playing favorites when it came to internal investigations. "Increasingly I realized, that it was the department just protecting itself, and often, it was just certain people within the department, command staff protecting command staff," said Davidson.
He also claims two top department officials helped craft legislation that would end the Community Oversight Board. Before the law passed, Nashville's board had the power to investigate police misconduct. "Which was significant enough that a deputy chief was presented with an award from [Office of Professional Accountability] for his efforts," said Davidson.
Metro Police specifically rejected that notion. Spokesperson Don Aaron tells NewsChannel 5 they, "reject as false any assert that they were involved in the process of crafting legislation," he wrote in a statement.
Regarding the award, Aaron says it was to honor Deputy Chief Chris Gilder for helping them navigate the changes in the law, not for helping create the law.
Deputy Chief Gilder recalls being asked to visit the Office of Professional Accountability in late July or August of 2023 to brief the staff on changes in state law that created the Community Review Board verses the former Community Oversight Board. As an attorney who had helped members of OPA and other department components navigate the COB process since it was created, Gilder thought nothing was unusual in being asked to explain the differences created by the new statute. When he got to OPA, he was surprised to receive a small acrylic star. The inscription named him OPA’s Star for 2023. Gilder’s perception of the context for this was his help in resolving various issues in the relationship between OPA and the COB.
Friday morning, Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell confirmed there would be an independent investigation into Davidson's allegations. "I think everyone agrees that the allegations are serious and thorough enough to merit attention, so that’s where we are," said Mayor O'Connell, during his media round table.
O'Connell and Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz assured reporters that MNPD will fully cooperate with the investigation. "I’ve spoken with Chief Drake more than once about this complaint, over the weekend, and recently. He has stressed his full cooperation," said Dietz.
Dietz also reminded everyone that until that independent investigation is complete, these are just accusations. "We will get to the bottom of that and we will see if the accusations are true," said Dietz.
Nashville attorney Edward Stanton will lead up the independent investigation. He was also recently tasked with reviewing Tennessee's death row protocols by Governor Bill Lee.
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-Carrie Sharp
