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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nashville Banner) — Metro Nashville Police Department leaders have reissued a training bulletin about felony camping laws after highly publicized arrests last month in South Inglewood Park.
The training bulletin requires officers to call a supervisor to the scene prior to taking someone into custody, something that is not required for any other arrests, according to the police department. Police officials also said the June incidents were the only ones in which MNPD personnel have made arrests for the offense.
The policy recently redistributed also directs officers to “carefully consider MNPD Policy 5.60, Officer Discretion and Alternatives to Arrest and have an articulable reason that such alternatives were not suitable and that an arrest for unlawful camping was appropriate. As a part of this review, officers should consider available community resources and the totality of the circumstances when determining the necessary actions to resolve each situation.”
According to MNPD, officers spoke with people staying at the park pavilion on the night of June 26. A man named Joseph Lamont Williams, according to police, left his belongings and walked away. Police said that Williams had received a verbal warning about camping at the park a few days prior and had received a formal warning for the same thing in July 2025. Because of that, police said, “an officer swore out an unauthorized camping warrant.”
The following night, Officer Daniel Rizzo arrived at the park shortly before midnight following a call from a neighbor who said he was worried about prostitution (no one was ultimately charged with prostitution). The Banner obtained via public record request body-worn camera footage that shows Rizzo approaching a group at the pavilion.
“You guys know you’re not supposed to be here, right?” he asked. “They’re getting pretty picky about you guys staying here.”
Williams and another occupant said they were staying under the pavilion because of the rain.
“I got you, but we got to find somewhere else,” Rizzo said.
The officer asked if they were willing to leave, and Williams and another woman said they were. Rizzo then informed Williams that he had a warrant outstanding (from the prior night) and would have to come with the officers.
Williams then set off running, with Rizzo in pursuit. Rizzo, after warning Williams that he would use his stun gun, deployed the device, immobilizing Williams. MNPD policy allows the use of a stun gun on a fleeing suspect when there is probable cause to arrest the suspect.
Within a couple of minutes, at least six MNPD squad cars were on the scene.
An MNPD spokesperson said officers were “within policy.” A sergeant was on the scene, according to an MNPD representative.
MNPD Deputy Chief Chris Gilder told a Metro councilmember in an email that “these responding newer officers don’t typically deal with unlawful encampment issues on their overnight shift. To remedy this, the chain of command has ensured that all the officers and supervisors on this detail are aware of the MNPD policy and procedures which must be followed in these cases.” (Rizzo joined the department in 2022, according to civil service documents.)
Williams ultimately spent more than a week in jail. His felony camping charge was dismissed by prosecutors but he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for evading arrest.
Williams has since returned to the park.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell was asked about the incident in an appearance on Nashville Public Radio last week. He called it a “disappointing outcome.”
“We’re talking to MNPD about training and policies,” he said, adding that different departments are working on “a comprehensive response.”
While MNPD has, until recently, refrained from enforcing the law, the Banner reported that Tennessee Highway Patrol officers working on behalf of the Nashville Downtown Partnership arrested 11 unhoused people for violations of the camping law in late 2024. Though THP representatives first denied the arrests had happened and then denied any wrongdoing, they told local officials that new policies had been put in place and the arrests stopped.
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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