Covenant School shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale reportedly told her therapist that she was fantasizing about killing her family and committing a school shooting, according to a report by 99.7 WTN radio host Brian Wilson. The therapist reportedly did not report these findings to authorities.
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Metro Nashville Police Department 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.
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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) claimed in a Wednesday appearance on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN’s “The Matt Murphy Show” that Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk (D) is “doing everything he can to put people behind bars,” but said he could not comment on why Funk decided against launching appeals against court rulings in a bid to keep career criminal Shaquille Taylor in jail prior to the death of Belmont freshman Jillian Ludwig.
Sexton repeated his claim that the Tennessee General Assembly’s failure to pass HB 7036 in the special session means Funk is “doing all he can” but “law enforcement’s hands are tied.”
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A former coworker of Shaquille Taylor, who is accused of fatally shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig in the head, said in a Friday interview that Taylor did not seem to have reduced cognitive abilities during their workplace interactions, and instead said he regaled her with stories of his criminal history.
After recognizing Taylor from photographs spread by the media, WSMV4 claims a Nashville woman said she worked with the alleged killer “at a fast food chain off White Bridge Pike.” Speaking to the outlet, she disputed reports that Taylor has the mental capacity of a small child.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to examine the Tennessee Capitol riot that occurred Thursday morning.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Roger Simon and The Pamphleteer’s David Hunt in studio to discuss the true nature of DA candidate Sarah Beth Myers.
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The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit to prevent the enactment of a new transgender bathroom sign law from taking effect on July 1.
The enacted law would require organizations to post a sign outside their bathrooms, if they allow individuals to use any bathroom — not one based on their biological sex.
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into an officer-involved shooting Wednesday of a suspect who allegedly rammed several police cars in north Nashville.
The TBI on Wednesday tweeted, “HAPPENING NOW: TBI Agents are investigating a reported officer-involved shooting in Nashville, at a location in the 2200 block of Brick Church Pike.”
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Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada says the NewsChannel 5 report by Phil Williams claiming that the email from Justin Jones was altered is simply untrue and the implication that anybody in his office tried to frame Justin Jones is completely false. “On March 1 the email from Jones dated February 25 was received by my office and it was immediately forwarded, along with a photo of the email that showed the March 1 date that it was received, to the Nashville District Attorney because it appeared that Mr. Jones had violated the terms of the Court’s Order to refrain from contacting me. After it was realized that the date the email was received was a few days after it had been sent, my office notified the District Attorney about the apparent disparity in dates,” Casada said. “The email was not altered or manipulated to falsely accuse Jones of violating the Court’s order,” he added. Casada also explained that he had Legislative Information Services (LIS) investigate and they determined that the email had somehow lagged in delivery for several days within the system. The Tennessee House Republican Caucus released this statement from Speaker Casada late Thursday afternoon: “The allegations made…
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The attack against Southerners appearing in old photos has now ensnared District Attorney General Glenn Funk, who revealed his photo appearance in an attempt to get ahead of the story, multiple media outlets report. WKRN reports that Funk, of the 20th Judicial District in Nashville, appeared in a 1982 Wake Forest University yearbook photo with the Kappa Alpha Order, who were posing with the Confederate flag. Funk issued this statement: Last week, I read media reports that Governor Bill Lee was a KA at Auburn in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Given the attention given to this fact, I feel compelled to disclose that when I was in college at Wake Forest 37 years ago, I was also a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. I went back and looked through my college annuals. In 1982, my picture appeared in a group photo in the yearbook with the Confederate flag prominently displayed. I was wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior. I apologize for the hurt caused then and now. Last week Gannett dug up a 39-year-old university fraternity yearbook photo showing Gov. Bill Lee dressed in a Confederate uniform with other members of Kappa Alpha Order who were…
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A grand jury indicted Metro Nashville Police Department Officer Andrew Delke on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting of Daniel Hambrick. District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office announced the decision Friday, Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) said. The case will be tried in the Criminal Court of Davidson County, NewsChannel 5 said. Delke, who is out on bond, will plead not guilty. Judge Melissa Blackburn decided at the preliminary hearing two weeks ago there was probable cause to bound the case over to the grand jury. This is the first time an on-duty Nashville police officer has been indicted for a fatal shooting, WPLN said, quoting a police spokesperson. NewsChannel 5 said Delke has been decommissioned but remains on administrative assignment. Arraignment is expected in seven to 10 days. The shooting has been fraught with racial undertones. WTN radio’s Dan Mandis tried to hold a reasoned debate last August with Joy Kimbrough, the attorney representing the Hambrick family, The Tennessee Star reported at the time. The audio of Mandis’ intervew on Super Talk 99.7 is available here. Video of the shooting is available here on the Nashville Scene. Kimbrough used what Mandis called “inflammatory language” repeatedly even as he said…
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by James Smallwood This week, Americans showed their respect and support of local police by celebrating National Law Enforcement Appreciation day. Many government officials recognized this celebration by issuing proclamations, offering tributes, and declaring their admiration for the men and women who keep us safe. Here in Nashville, District Attorney Glenn Funk celebrated by comparing Metro police to Nazis. While outrageous, that slur isn’t the worst of his actions toward police. His politically motivated decision to charge Metro Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke with a crime for doing precisely what he and every other police officer in Tennessee are trained to do is an attack on law enforcement itself. Sadly, Mr. Funk’s decision may result in more police officers being hurt and killed in the line of duty. Punishing – in this case prosecuting – an officer who follows official training guidelines leads to danger, even disaster. In 2016, a female Chicago police officer was savagely beaten and had her face smashed repeatedly into the pavement by a man high on the drug PCP. While she believed she was going to die from the horrific beating, the officer ignored her training and didn’t shoot the man because “she didn’t…
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Fallout from Wednesday’s bombshell admission by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry that she carried on a years-long affair with the head of her security detail, Rob Forrest, continues. Serious questions as to the taxpayer funds that Barry may have funneled to Forrest in the form of overseas trips and overtime payments has triggered District Attorney Glenn Funk to ask the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter to determine if there was–and the extent to which there may have been– any criminal wrongdoing by Metro Nashville’s chief executive. “District Attorney Glenn Funk has asked TBI Director Mark Gwyn to investigate whether Mayor Megan Barry and/or others, including Sgt. Rob Forrest, violated any criminal law including misappropriation of public funds and official misconduct,” Funk spokesman Steve Hayslip told The Tennessean Thursday morning. “As with any TBI investigation, agents will collect any and all relevant evidence and interviews and, in turn, submit investigative findings to the district attorney general for his further review and consideration,” TBI spokesman Josh DeVine confirmed to The Tennessean. Meanwhile, Rob Forrest’s wife, through her attorney, requested the former security chief’s cell phone and its contents be held and preserved by the Metro Nashville Police Department. MNPD spokesperson Kris…
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Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk is planning to start a restorative justice pilot program using practices that are lauded by some but criticized by others who say they downplay wrongdoing. The program would start in juvenile courts but could be expanded to the adult system if it’s successful, reports WKRN News 2. In restorative justice programs, offenders meet with their victims as a way of taking accountability and to show remorse, and to help victims heal. In Davidson County, cases would be sent to a diversion program run by a nonprofit, which has yet to be found. Teens charged with vehicle thefts, home burglaries and nonviolent crime would be eligible to participate if the victim agrees. “What has to happen is the offender has to accept responsibility,” Funk told WKRN. “They have to admit to what they did, they have to meet with the victim, they find out what they need to do to make the victim whole, and then they have to take concrete steps to try to make the victim whole.” Restorative justice programs have been around for decades, but have become more popular in recent years in criminal justice systems and in public schools. Nashville Mayor Megan…
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The Justice for Jocques Coalition held a town hall meeting Saturday at which they slammed Nashville city officials for what they perceive as injustice in the case of a white police officer who fatally shot an armed black man. Officer Josh Lippert was found to be acting in self-defense in the Feb. 10 shooting of Jocques Scott Clemmons. Called “The People’s Town Hall,” Saturday’s event was held at First Baptist Church South Inglewood. City officials were invited to attend. District Attorney Glenn Funk and Mayor Megan Barry sent representatives who listened but referred concerns to Funk and Barry directly. The Metro Nashville Police Department did not send anyone. “When is the mayor going to be the mayor and handle the police chief?,” said Davie Tucker, pastor of Beech Creek Missionary Baptist Church, according to NewsChannel 5. “When is the DA going to be the DA and be the chief prosecutor in this jurisdiction and stop allowing the police to do it?” Clemmons was shot by Lippert at the Cayce Homes public housing development in East Nashville after the officer saw Clemmons run a stop sign, which led to a foot chase, physical confrontation and Clemmons pointing a gun toward the officer.…
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Police Chief Steve Anderson has slammed the Nashville district attorney’s office for criticizing the police department’s handling of the Feb. 10 fatal shooting of an armed black man by a white officer acting in self-defense. In a report and at a press conference last week, officials with the district attorney’s office criticized the language the Metro Nashville Police Department used in a report and for supposedly concluding only several hours after the incident that the shooting was justifiable and saying the investigation was complete. While District Attorney Glenn Funk concluded that Officer Josh Lippert did act in self-defense in shooting Jocques Scott Clemmons, the report released by his office said the police department contributed to an appearance of bias in the case, which provoked a strong reaction in the community and raised questions of fairness. WKRN News 2 reported that in a letter Monday to Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter, who spoke at the May 11 press conference, Anderson said his department had provided the district attorney’s office in advance with an explanation of the language used in the police report, adding that police follow guidelines from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Anderson said Hunter’s statement at the press conference, taken…
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The Nashville district attorney’s office says police were “insensitive” when in their reports they referred to an armed black man shot by an officer in self-defense as a suspect. The criticism is found in a report issued last week by District Attorney Glenn Funk on the Feb. 10 shooting of Jocques Scott Clemmons by Josh Lippert, a white officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department. “Identifying the officer as the victim and Mr. Clemmons as the suspect sends a message that could be perceived as biased, and seems insensitive because no charges could be brought against Mr. Clemmons,” the report says. “To label the parties in this manner, particularly in the beginning stages of the investigation, could create an appearance to the public that the investigation was biased.” While the district attorney’s office determined Lippert acted in self-defense and will not pursue criminal charges against him, its report was critical of the police department’s handling of the case and recommended steps to eliminate any appearance of bias in the future and ensure minorities are treated fairly. In future cases, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will alone conduct a thorough criminal investigation when an MNPD officer’s use of force results…
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A white Nashville police officer who fatally shot an armed black man in February won’t face charges, District Attorney Glenn Funk announced at a press conference Thursday. The case drew accusations of racial bias but Funk said the officer acted in self-defense because the man would not comply with requests to drop his pistol. However, officials in the district attorney’s office are criticizing the police department for creating the appearance of bias for labeling the shooting justifiable before a thorough investigation could take place. Funk is also calling attention to a study purporting to show disparities in traffic stops and searches. “For Nashville to move forward, all law enforcement, including my office, must take steps to enhance fairness and confidence in the criminal justice system,” Funk said in a related report, according to WKRN News Channel 2. Officer Josh Lippert shot Jocques Scott Clemmons on Feb. 10 at the Cayce Homes public housing development. Lippert had wanted to talk to Clemmons about running a nearby stop sign, according to a Feb. 10 Metro Nashville Police Department news release. But Clemmons, appearing to clutch something in his waistband, ran away from the Lippert when the officer pulled up to his SUV…
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