NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — A Metro Nashville Police officer who was stripped of his police powers after video surfaced of him potentially using excessive force has been in trouble on the job before. NewsChannel 5 obtained documents showing Officer Barrett Teague has faced disciplinary actions several times in the past.
His personnel file contains several complaints, but two internal investigations resulted in strong disciplinary actions. In one instance, investigators found Teague did not wait for backup when apprehending a suspect back in August of 2017. The report found he used a taser and punched the suspect in the face.
The investigation found the suspect was hiding in the closet and ignored Officer Teague's commands. Teague says he believed the suspect had a gun so he used his taser and empty hand to "gain compliance." While trying to place the suspect in handcuffs, she grabbed the taser and Teague punched her in the face. While other officers attempted to apprehend the suspect, Teague pulled out his service weapon after the taser was retrieved.
Another investigation found Teague tackled a teen who was jaywalking in September of 2017. Officer Teague asked the suspects to walk over when he observed them jaywalking. Only one of the two teens did, the other tried to run.
In the complaint, the teen said, “I was on the ground, on my stomach like this, and then he turned me over on my back and started choking me."
Teague said he never choked the teen but did have his hand on his collarbone to control the suspect's center of gravity.
Other officers said they never saw Teague choke anyone or use excessive force. Teague charged the juvenile with assault "because he looked like a grown man and because he didn’t know what he was going to do," the report said.
Officer Teague said the suspect did not threatened him during the altercation, but he still charged him with assault. Teague says the "suspect’s hand were up in the mercy position when he mounted him." The teen faced four charges, but the report found only one was relevant to the incident.
In that case, Teague was given a three day suspension for deficient or inefficient performance of duties. Teague also received a written reprimand in March of 2017 for the way he greeted a driver during a traffic stop. According to the report, he asked the driver if she was "drunk" when she disobeyed traffic laws.
He also was ordered to formal counseling for the way he spoke to a driver during a traffic stop back in November of 2016.
A video earlier this month, a video showed Teague grabbing and pushing a woman during a traffic stop at a Z-mart in Nashville. He's been stripped of his police powers as an internal investigation is underway.
