NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Solaren CEO Jack Byrd testified Thursday that the state approved a version of his law enforcement patches, although state officials have said that never happened.
Byrd took the stand for his much-anticipated testimony and explained that at some point, his Solaren “police” and “law enforcement” patches were shared with the very POST Commission accusing him of breaking the rules.
“So, your testimony under oath is that the POST Commission approved that patch?” state attorney Jesse Gentry asked.
“They were sent this design,” Byrd responded.
According to TN POST, the department regulating law enforcement in the state:
“A full-time, POST-certified officer can wear his/her departmental uniform (if approved) or the patch approved by POST while providing services as a security guard while working outside of his/her primary jurisdiction. The patch is limited by the statute to apply to full-time, POST-certified officers.
All other use of badges, patches, uniforms, or equipment that identify an individual providing security services as “police” or the equivalent is unlawful.”
POST Commissioners unveiled a patch of their own last week that officials say is the only patch they’ve approved for law enforcement who also moonlight as private security.
They say the patch was intended to create full transparency for the public so they know who to trust in case of an emergency, but also who they can hold accountable.
Byrd said they’ve since changed their patch to be more specific with designations like “law enforcement” or “retired law enforcement” because it helped employees feel more comfortable wearing their patch.
He’s also argued that the law leaves room for exemptions that may apply to some of his guards who are either retired law enforcement or work at least part-time at local departments.
Still, nearly all of Byrd’s security guards who testified between Wednesday or Thursday said they felt uncomfortable and at times refused to wear a patch that called them something they’re not.
Marshall Grotewiel is employed at the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and worked part-time for Solaren. He’s never been a POST-certified law enforcement officer and admits he had no arrest powers.
He says that didn’t stop Solaren from handing him shirts that read “off-duty law enforcement” and “off-duty police.”
Grotewiel was among those disciplined by the Davidson County Sheriff’s office for wearing "misleading" police patches.
Veyonka Owens said she was a licensed armed security guard but was never POST-certified when she began working as a Solaren security guard.
“Did you ever wear the shirt you were issued that said police on it?” Gentry asked.
“No,” said Owens.
“Why not?” Gentry asked.
“I’m not police,” Owens responded.
Byrd responded to this testimony by saying he believed every one of his guards had been properly vetted, but he said at times they may have relied more on what guards said instead of calling past employers.
“I don’t cross reference. I’m not going to go to other employees or contractors either. I’m not going to do that. That’s not appropriate,” Byrd said.
“Well, is it appropriate to verify whether they’re affiliated with a law enforcement agency before you put them on a post wearing a patch that says police?” Gentry asked.
“To the best of our knowledge, we did,” Byrd said.
Some of the most stunning testimony, once again, pointed back to the small town of Millersville where Byrd appeared to take aim at one of his former security guards.
“We believe from preliminary information, Mr. Jeter has committed fraud,” Byrd said.
This comes one day after Joshua Jeter testified that he was informed there was a letter listing his name as a Millersville Police reserve officer.
“That was a completely fabricated letter from the city of Millersville…I couldn’t point to Millersville on a map,” Jeter said.
When asked why his name would appear on a Millersville roster, Jeter replied, “Because they are trying to make it look like I am LEO certified and can fall under the exemption of retired. I was never a reserve there, and I’m not about to perjure myself up here.”
Byrd explained that he found the letter and a copy of a Millersville reserve commission with Jeter’s name and photo in his personnel file.
“Who created this Millersville card?” Gentry asked Byrd.
“I would like to know,” Byrd replied.
Jeter claimed he was asked to take a photo and send it to former Millersville Police Chief Dustin Carr, and it wasn’t until just recently that he realized the photo was for Millersville.
Carr currently works for Solaren and, as Gentry pointed out, is also the same man who was accused of considering trading a reserve position to Byrd in exchange for license plate readers.
Millersville never got the license plate readers, although Byrd did get a reserve position.
“Did you ever offer to provide license plate readers for commission cards?” Gentry asked.
Byrd was cut off by attorneys and later told by Judge Claudia Padfield to disregard the question and focus on the charges in front of him.
We posed the same question to Byrd in 2023, and he denied ever paying for a Millersville reserve position.
“No. That is not something that we would ever support,” Byrd said.
Over the years, Byrd has employed several now former Millersville Police officers and administration, including former chief Melvin Brown.
Brown testified on Thursday with stunning revelations of his own.
He said he was in charge of training many Solaren employees but couldn’t recall signing off on the stack of certificates he was handed with his signature.
That’s when Brown realized that while the certificates were from 2022-2023, the form was from 2024.
“I certainly wouldn’t have filled out 2024 forms in 2022 or 2023, so for me, beyond any doubt, I didn’t fill these forms out,” Brown said.
Byrd’s attorneys scrambled to make sense of what they had just heard, but state attorneys appeared confident that they had caught Solaren in another alleged attempt at covering their tracks.
Testimony will continue Friday morning, with closing statements to follow.
If Judge Padfield decides that Solaren broke the rules when they had security wearing police patches, the company could face losing their license and paying a fine.
