NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Tennessee State trooper is under investigation after video captured him slamming a man to the ground while working off-duty security in downtown Nashville.
The moment was captured on camera by someone standing nearby and shows the trooper, wearing his full uniform, standing over a motionless man on the ground for several seconds.
It’s hard to tell what the trooper said, but the person who posted the video wrote in her caption, “the guy kicked the state trooper’s car…didn’t know it was a state trooper until he got out of the car.”
When the man on the ground regained consciousness, Metro Nashville Police arrived on scene, but the trooper had already left.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates has now learned that the trooper is under investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
We don’t know the trooper’s name, but we do know he was working off-duty security at the time for the Nashville private security company Solaren Risk Management.
This could explain why the man and people nearby seemed surprised to see a trooper climb out of a white unmarked truck in uniform.
Solaren CEO Jack Byrd III, declined an interview but provided a statement about the incident.
"Solaren Risk Management was made aware of an incident involving one of our employees. It is under review by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and our internal review team. We defer comments to the Tennessee Highway Patrol until the reviews are complete," Byrd said.
Byrd told us a few weeks back that he would rather his guards wear their department-issued uniforms if it meant full transparency and accountability over whether they were law enforcement.
“A lot of time we would have them wear their department-issued uniforms when they can and the bulk of those are highway patrol and they wear their uniforms,” Byrd said.
This was after years of complaints over guards allegedly using excessive force and ultimately Solaren being issued a $64,000 fine over guards posing as police.
Byrd said at the time that he’s made changes to their patches so they’re more compliant with the law.
“If there is a standard, if there is a rule or a law, we will comply with it, but you have to tell us what that is. Not just your interpretation, but what does that look like on the implementation side,” Byrd said.
Troopers are legally allowed to wear their uniforms while working in private security.
It’s not clear if the trooper in the video has been placed on leave or the condition of the man slammed to the ground, but Byrd told us he’s concerned by what he’s seen in the video.
He says they are cooperating with the state investigation while running an investigation of their own.
It may have only been seconds, but what happened now has both the state and Solaren searching for answers.
The POST Commission, which regulates law enforcement in the state, asked us to direct all questions to Byrd and Solaren.
This is a developing story.
