NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Davidson County Sheriff says four deputies have been disciplined for abusing their position after an investigation found they represented themselves as law enforcement while working for a private security company.
Four of those employees — Alexander Robles, Marshall Grotewiel, David Farmby and Lasean Bonds — have each been suspended 40 hours, according to a new report released Friday.
DCSO says this is "the highest level of discipline prior to termination" but would not comment any further.
Solaren Risk Management is one of the more well-known private security companies in Middle Tennessee. They have many guards working as security in Nashville's downtown for bars and honky tonks. Those employees were working for Solaren when the investigation of abuse of power began.
Last year when we sat down with Solaren CEO Jack Byrd, he brought stacks of documents he felt validated his claim that any of his security guards could wear one of these police patches if they were sworn law enforcement anywhere in the state.
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"I want people to have someone to call. I want that level of accountability," Byrd said.
Byrd handed us multiple attorney general opinions, but even those opinions agreed that only full-time sworn police officers in Tennessee are allowed to identify themselves as police. That means you've been certified by the state and have completed the police academy and all necessary training.
While some deputies may be certified, Metro Nashville's charter makes it clear they don't have any police powers in the city. That responsibility is left to the Metro Nashville Police Department, while the sheriff's office focuses on the jail and civil issues.
The report found that several DCSO employees admitted to, or were observed, wearing patches or vests that identified them as "police," or "police off-duty." Some of these deputies told investigators they didn't feel comfortable wearing the patch, but Byrd had them convinced it was OK.
"We do this because there’s no other way to augment. We have an officer shortage at this point, so we have to make sure we have the security that we need. The only way to do that is to bring in outside jurisdictions," Byrd said.
Byrd, who at one point worked for the sheriff's office, is not a certified police officer in Tennessee.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates, however, uncovered a photo of Byrd walking downtown Nashville wearing a vest that read "police."
Byrd was a reserve officer with the Millersville Police Department at the time and argued that those credentials meant he could wear a police patch outside his jurisdiction.
Byrd later resigned as a Millersville Police reserve, after questions over how he became a reserve officer began to surface.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates would later obtain a copy of a recorded phone call where former Millersville Police Chief Dustin Carr is heard considering the idea of exchanging a reserve position for thousands of dollars worth of license plate reader cameras from Byrd.
Millersville never got these license plate reader cameras, and Byrd denied ever making an exchange with the man who at the time was also working security for Solaren.
"The challenge we ran into, they don’t regulate retired law enforcement. They don’t regulate reserves. They don’t regulate auxiliaries. They don’t regulate special deputies," Byrd said.
Some have argued that this is part of why private security companies recruit those with any sort of law enforcement title to their name.
Byrd says the answer is simple.
"It pays more. Let's talk about the basic. It pays more. The reason why that pays more is because there obviously are some other things that went into training that person," Byrd said.
This could explain why Solaren would be eager to have employees wearing a patch that even Byrd agrees could confuse some into thinking the person they approached had police powers.
"You’re not wrong that there’s a shroud of who’s that or what is that? I’m not saying that we can’t do better as an industry. Absolutely we can, but there are many of us in this industry that are calling for accountability. That have asked for help," Byrd said.
Since last year's interview, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance launched an investigation of their own and filed a lawsuit against Solaren because as NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered some of Solaren's security guards weren't even licensed guards with the state.
Solaren was sued multiple times over the actions of one unlicensed security guard.
Byrd vowed to make changes and has since replaced patches on his guards to read either "security" or "law enforcement off-duty."
The question now: is it too little, too late?
"I think most of us are trying to be good actors and trying to be good businessmen and women, but the reality is, it’s hard when there’s not a lot of rules," Byrd said.
DCSO's report concluded no residents or tourists filed complaints about DCSO employees misleading the public with the appearance of having law enforcement authority while working off-duty. But notes that the DCSO employee handbook that employees are directed not to "mislead the public" by "wearing uniforms, attire, credentials, or other insignia implying law enforcement authority while off duty."
We have reached back out to Byrd about this week's suspensions. So far, we haven't heard back from him.
