Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) declined to comment on allegations by a recently retired MNPD officer who claimed police searched the home and office of a “practitioner” involved in the Covenant shooting investigation.
Former Lieutenant Garet Davidson is skeptical the Covenant shooting investigation is still “active, open, and actually being worked” despite MNPD’s claim that the investigation is open, he said in an interview with 99.7 WTN host Brian Wilson on his afternoon drive radio show.
“And I don’t know if [the investigation is still open], why it hasn’t already been presented to DA Funk to go ahead and see about an indictment on that individual in question,” Davidson (pictured above) continued. “I think there’s some smoke and mirrors there.”
MNPD declined when The Tennessee Star, via email, asked for comment on Davidson’s allegations.
Davidson sent a 61-page complaint against MNPD to the mayor’s office, the Community Review Board (CRB), and the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA).
In the complaint, he alleged Deputy Chief Chris Gilder and Assistant Chief Mike Hagar were “principally involved” in crafting a 2023 state law that effectively abolished Nashville’s Community Oversight Board (COB), a civilian-occupied government board with the ability to investigate the department and make recommendations to change its policies and practices.
The Star obtained a redacted version of the full complaint.
Davidson also alleged that Gilder and Hagar collaborated with state lawmakers with Police Chief John Drake’s knowledge and that Hagar was awarded for his actions by OPA Director Kathy Morante in front of “nearly the entire OPA division.”
“Do you have confidence in Chief Drake?” Wilson asked Davidson in an interview Thursday.
“I have to say, unfortunately, no I’ve lost confidence in him and other leadership in the department to do what’s right for both the city and the people in the departments,” Davidson said.
The COB, which the less powerful CRB replaced, made several recommendations to MNPD in pursuit of gender and racial diversity, illegally allowed a convicted felon without restored voting rights to serve as a member, and rejected political science scholar Carol Swain from membership apparently for her conservative political views.
According to the complaint, Davidson recommended that MNPD’s alleged role in crafting state legislation be reviewed to consider whether the law that banned boards like the COB is invalid under Tennessee’s constitution. However, he did not provide evidence or details of Gilder’s and Hagar’s alleged secret lobbying.
MNPD is investigating the complaint but has not publicly addressed Davidson’s allegations, except one that claims MNPD has reduced its training time for recruit officers.
In a statement provided to The Star, Drake said MNPD recruits exceed the state-mandated requirement of 488 minimum training hours.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X/Twitter.
Photo “Garet Davidson” by Garet Davidson. Background Photo “Covenant School” by Metro Nashville PD.
Why the hell would Memphis be involved? I don’t even think the FBI should be involved. Is our Metro Police Dept incapable of conducting an investigation?
Something very fishy smelling has been going on since Day One that the FBI moved in & took over.
It’s like they want to protect any institution promoting sex changes. Or maybe, they were intimately involved with Hale as her illness progressed. If Hale was under psychiatric care, & appropriately reported, she would not have been able to purchase all those weapons. Did she receive training somewhere? There are so many unanswered questions,vits ridiculous.
Should be interesting…..Memphis DA to investigate. Should be interesting…..