Filing singles out MNPD whistleblower in Covenant records leak
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Police blocking the entrance of The Covenant School after the March 27 shooting. Photo: Benjamin Hendren/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A new legal filing connects the former Nashville police lieutenant who filed a sweeping whistleblower complaint against the department to recent records leaks from The Covenant School shooting investigation.
Why it matters: A sworn declaration filed Friday morning puts Lt. Garet Davidson at the center of two high-profile issues facing the police department.
- It does not explicitly state that Davidson leaked the records.
Driving the news: Davidson was tasked with storing a hard drive containing the shooting investigation file in a safe last year, according to the declaration from one of his former colleagues. Davidson was the only person with access to that safe at that time, the filing says.
Context: Records from the investigation into The Covenant School shooting have not been released by police. Media outlets sued last year for the case file to be released, but Chancellor I'Ashea Myles hasn't ruled in that lawsuit yet.
- In the meantime, there have been leaks of journal entries by Covenant shooter Audrey Hale. Last year, a snippet from the journal was leaked to a right-wing media outlet.
- More recently, larger portions of Hale's journal and other elements of the investigation file, were leaked to the Tennessee Star, which is a conservative media outlet.
Zoom in: Davidson worked in the Office of Professional Accountability, which was tasked with investigating last year's leak of the initial journal entry. As part of that investigation, Davidson was given the investigation file, which he stored in a locked safe in his office, according to the filing.
- The sworn declaration was filed under penalty of perjury by police Lt. Alfredo Arevalo, who works in the Professional Standards Division, which incorporates the unit where Davidson worked, as part of the lawsuit over whether the police department should release the investigation file.
Davidson filed the whistleblower complaint with the department outlining troubling accusations of misconduct and mismanagement last month.
- Shortly after, Davidson began giving interviews with the Tennessee Star, in which he discussed the department's handling of the Covenant investigation.
- The Tennessee Star has published around 30 articles quoting journal excerpts and detailing other elements of the investigation in recent weeks, according to the declaration. Other outlets have also published stories recently based on the leaked records.
Between the lines: According to Arevalo's declaration, the file was stored in the safe inside Davidson's office for 13 days. Davidson was the only person who had the key and combination to the locked safe during that time, according to Arevalo.
- "I am appalled that this open investigative case file has been leaked to the media," Arevalo said in the filing. "I am saddened by the impact that this leak must have on the victims and families of the Covenant school shooting."
- "I am aware that MNPD wants to know how the leak occurred and who was involved internally, and I have been told steps are being taken to ascertain how this information left MNPD's custody."
What's next: The city has hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate allegations against the Metro Nashville Police Department.
- Meanwhile, Myles called for a special hearing on Monday asking the Tennessee Star to show why it is not in contempt of court for publishing the journal entries.
- Davidson, who resigned from the department in December, could not immediately be reached for comment.