Community Leaders Want Explanation On Inmate's Death

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Andron Reed was found unresponsive in a Rutherford County jail after being arrested. The 18-year-old later died.

By Nicole Ferguson

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Community leaders in Murfreesboro are concerned about alleged abuse at the hands of Rutherford County law enforcement after an inmate was found unresponsive and later died.

Two months after Andron Reed was found unresponsive in a Rutherford County jail, the local NAACP offices have received more calls concerning law enforcement misconduct and excessive use of force.

"The Andron Reed case is not the only case," said Gloria Sweet-Love, president and director of the Tennessee State division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "As my daddy might have said – that was just the straw that broke the camel's back."

Reed, age 18, was pulled over on August 14 during a traffic stop along Interstate 24 in Rutherford County.

Accompanied by his brother, Reed was arrested for driving under the influence, speeding and failure to stop when a highway trooper tried to pull him over.

The following day, Reed was found unresponsive in the Rutherford County jail, and later died at the Middle Tennessee Medical Center.

“Our concern is that a healthy young man is stopping for a traffic stop, and the next morning he’s dead in jail,” said Sweet-Love.

Reed's brother, Artavius Reed, said he heard officers beating his brother in the jail. The medical examiner's report attributes the death to natural causes – more specifically, a heart attack.

"That is not enough. It is not enough for you to say, that an 18 or 19-year-old who was healthy, all of a sudden [died] just because he was arrested. He had no history of epilepsy none of those kinds of things. That's not enough,” said Sweet-Love.

The NAACP, Murfreesboro clergy and HOPE (Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education) gathered Monday to announce a forum aimed at encouraging people who feel they have been treated unfairly by Rutherford County law enforcement to step forward. NAACP officials said their Murfreesboro office has received an increase in calls concerning law enforcement misconduct over the past eight to nine months, but they did not provide statistics.

"We're not on a witch hunt. We support our law enforcement. We believe in our law enforcement. We believe in protecting law abiding citizens, but who's protecting those who break the law when it's the law enforcement?" said Tommy Vallejos, president of HOPE.

"We want every citizen in this county to feel safe – and not only safe to be protected, but safe if they are stopped, that they are going to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Sweet-Love.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has not completed its investigation into Reed's case. They are still gathering medical records. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office referred all questions about the case to TBI and the medical examiner's office.

In response to allegations of law enforcement misconduct and excessive use of force, spokesman Dan Goodwin says the Sheriff’s Office investigates any complaint that comes up.

The community forum is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. It will be held at the Allen Chapel AME Church located at 224 S. Maney Avenue in Murfreesboro.