The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) announced Sunday that a 20-year old Smyrna man was arrested and charged over the weekend for “dangerously sliding around a group of people” in South Nashville during a street race.
Kyle Paulson, MNPD reports, is charged with rioting, felony reckless endangerment, and trespassing, with additional charges anticipated. Paulson, according to FOX 17 Nashville, is a “slider” with the street racing group Night Riderz, “driving at a high rate of speed while sliding in circles.”
This isn’t the first time Paulson has participated in street races in Nashville, the outlet notes, adding that he has “participated in numerous “takeovers, slideshows and shutdowns” in May and June throughout the county.”
Paulson was booked into the Davidson County Jail on Saturday night on seven charges. His bond is set at $111,000.
MNPD’s arrest of Paulson comes just one day after the department partnered with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) to conduct “enhanced aggressive driving enforcement,” including street racers, on roadways across Davidson County.
We are proud to be working side by side @MNPDNashville to keep the roadways safer in Nashville. Please listen and spread our message that we will be out in full force this weekend. #slowdowntn https://t.co/sSg2SBnCpm
— THPNashville (@THPNashville) August 4, 2023
THP and MNPD are urging Nashvillians to “buckle up, slow down, and help save lives when behind the wheel.”
Street racing has recently taken the country by storm with many states taking legislative action against the unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on public roadways.
Last year, Governor Bill Lee signed a bill passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that targeted organized street racing by introducing a new offense to the Tennessee code – aggravated reckless driving. The law – which took effect July 1, 2022 – made aggravated reckless driving a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of 11 months and 29 days in jail, fines up to $2,500, or both.
Another bill aimed at putting an end to street racing was introduced by Tennessee State Representative John Gillespie (R-Memphis) earlier this year, which would allow law enforcement to confiscate vehicles used in street racing. Gillespie’s bill was placed on the calendar for the next legislative session.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Kyle Paulson” by Metro Nashville Police Department and “Courtroom” is by Carol Highsmiths.
Levelhead. I believe Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green already has such a facility. Street racing of any kind is dumb.
@Randall,
If only Paulson had used a megaphone and maybe threw coffee on bystanders he wouldn’t be charged with rioting.
Doesn’t there need to be more than one person for it to be a “riot”?
Thank you mpd for getting this kid off the road in south nashville. If he is convicted of starting a riot, then Justin Jones and his friends should have been convicted long ago.
Perhaps we, as a community, can find a safe venue and require safety equipment to allow this sort of “racing” and sliding. Stay tough on the crackdown on the street, yet provide an alternative outlet for the creative aspect. Maybe a track where youth can gather and show off their cars and skills relatively safely.
As for vehicle/property confiscation: I was against it when Reagan instituted his zero tolerance policy and I am against it now, especially if their is no conviction – when faced with legal charges we are innocent until proven guilty.