A former Nashville police lieutenant, Garet Davidson, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of theft, burglary, and official misconduct. He was accused of taking case files, including records from a school shooting where three 9-year-olds and three adult staff were killed. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest, stating that Davidson used his position at the Metro Nashville Police Department to access restricted areas and unlawfully took various criminal and internal investigation case files. Davidson was booked into the Nashville jail on a $150,000 bond. His attorney, Alex Little, will provide a statement on the arrest later on Tuesday.
Some charges are linked to the March 2023 Covenant School shooting, where Davidson was previously implicated in leaking the shooter’s journals to conservative media outlets. The situation escalated with legal battles over open records requests related to the shooting, involving various parties including a gun rights group, law enforcement nonprofit, and State Sen. Todd Gardenhire. Ultimately, parents of the Covenant students won the right to keep the records private based on copyright claims to the writings.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently provided a redacted version of its Covenant shooting files to Tennessee Star owner, Star News Digital, in response to a lawsuit. Nashville police also released a final report on the shooting, detailing the shooter’s writings, mental health, and motivations.
The victims of the shooting were three 9-year-olds – Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney – and adults Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce, and Mike Hill. The shooter, Audrey Hale, was shot and killed by police at the scene.
