NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Nashville Police Department detectives identified a man wanted for questioning surrounding the death of Dallas Barrett at Whiskey Row.
Police said the man appears to be among individuals who held Barrett during the altercation and is not an employee of Whiskey Row.
The case has gotten attention, with Barrett's family protesting outside of the Broadway establishment in November. Barrett's mother, Tammy, told NewsChannel 5 she wanted charges against those involved in the 22-year-old's death to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
“He didn’t deserve to die," Tammy Barrett said.
Barrett's mom said she wants justice.
"I pray that every person that was on top of him, they killed him while he was saying he couldn’t breathe, I pray that they charge all of them," Barrett said. "I can’t tell you how many people I know of that have been in a fight, they didn’t deserve to die because they were in a fight."
A police spokesperson confirms they've received some tips from the community, and officers are following up on them. Barrett said, "So, I’m happy that the police department is continuing their hard work to try to find answers."
She said she wanted to encourage those involved to cooperate with the investigation.
"First of all, I would like to know unless you feel you were guilty, why haven’t you stepped forward before?" Barrett said.
Since no charges have been filed against the security guards, Barrett requested a meeting with Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk. A spokesman from Funk's office said the case was being actively reviewed and that the office couldn't comment on a pending case.
“It was blatant acts of vigilantism,” Barrett said.
ABOUT WHISKEY ROW DEATH
On Aug. 16, Metro police were called to Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row bar for a report of a fight. When officers arrived, they found 22-year-old Dallas "DJ" Barrett unresponsive on the floor of the rooftop. Barrett was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Staff at the bar told detectives Barrett became unruly and was asked to leave, but he allegedly then began to fight with security staff. The bouncers pulled Barrett to the ground and held him on the floor, according to Metro police.
The medical examiner determined his cause of death to be asphyxiation.
Two videos released to NewsChannel 5 show the moments before and after his death.
The witness watching what happened through a cell phone showed Barrett on the ground with at least four security personnel on top of him as music continued to play in the background. Throughout the nearly four minutes, others are trying to pull security off of Barrett, while the four security officers continue restraining him to the ground.
An additional video showed Barrett on the ground unresponsive. Then, Metro Nashville Police Department officers tried to use techniques to bring back Barrett's breathing.
Police said they received a complaint about the investigation through the Office of Professional Accountability from Whiskey Row. The complaint went through Hub Nashville, and wasn't received immediately, Metro officials said. People who work at the bar are claiming they asked for help from police on Broadway but they stayed at their post. Police say they were working traffic and radioed for help.
