NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Nashville police lieutenant was arrested Tuesday on charges of theft, burglary and official misconduct after he was accused of taking case files, including records from a school shooting where three 9-year-olds and three adult staff were killed.
In announcing the arrest of Garet Davidson, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said he used his position with the Office of Professional Accountability at the Metro Nashville Police Department to gain access to restricted areas. “He then took multiple criminal case files, internal investigation case files, original case files, and other documents he was not authorized to retain,” according to a TBI news release. Davidson was booked into the Nashville jail on a $150,000 bond.
Davidson's attorney, Alex Little, provided a statement saying the charges “represent a transparent attempt to discredit and silence a whistleblower who exposed serious misconduct within the Metro Nashville Police Department.
“The documents in question are public records documenting MNPD leadership’s alleged efforts to undermine civilian oversight, protect high-ranking officers from accountability, and maintain a culture that tolerates harassment and discrimination. The additional charges related to the Covenant School Shooting materials further demonstrate the department’s desire to use criminal charges to keep the public in the dark,” the statement reads.
Davidson retired from the Metro Nashville Police Department in January 2024 after working for two years in the Office of Professional Accountability, which is the department's internal affairs unit.
He filed a complaint last May outlining a long list of claims against the police department. It included accusations that ranking personnel received better outcomes in investigations; command staff were overly involved in internal investigations; officers purposefully failed to keep records to avoid incriminating paper trails; training for new recruits was improperly reduced; and the department failed to enact a “zero-tolerance” policy on sexual harassment and discrimination. He also alleged the police department actively lobbied to gut the city’s community oversight board.
Shortly after the complaint was filed, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced an independent investigation of the allegations, which is ongoing.
In a statement released last year, Police Chief John Drake only addressed the accusation involving training for new officers, saying they receive much more training than what is required by the state.
Some of the charges Davidson is facing are related to the March 2023 shooting at a private Christian elementary school. Davidson was previously implicated in the leak of the shooter's journals to conservative media outlets. The Tennessee Star published dozens of stories based on what they said were 80 pages of the shooter’s writings.
That outlet was one of several parties that had filed open records requests with Nashville police for records related to the shooting, including the journals. When the city refused to immediately release the records in 2023, they sued. The plaintiffs included a gun rights group, a law enforcement nonprofit and Tennessee state Sen. Todd Gardenhire. On the other side was not just the city, but parents of many of the Covenant students who wanted to keep the records secret.
The situation quickly ballooned into a messy mix of conspiracy theories, leaked documents, probate battles and accusations of ethical misconduct. In July, a judge ruled for the parents, who claimed they own the copyright to the writings, transferred to them from the shooter's parents as next of kin. That decision is currently under appeal.
Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation last month provided Tennessee Star owner, Star News Digital, with a redacted version of its Covenant shooting files in response to a separate lawsuit. In a federal court filing, the FBI said it withheld names and identifying information of third parties and detailed descriptions of the shooter’s plans. Also last month, Nashville police released a final report on the shooting that included details about the shooter's writings, mental health and motivations.
Those killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61. Shooter Audrey Hale was shot and killed by police at the scene.
FILE - People console each other at an entry to Covenant School, March 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn., which has become a memorial to the victims of Monday's school shooting. (AP Photo/John Amis, file)
