In October, we first reported on several officers & sergeants from the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Goodlettsville Police Department, and firemen from the Nashville Fire Department, who had taken secret photos of a transgender woman and shamed her online on social media.
We’ve received of the results of several of the investigations conducted by each department over the past few months, and today we learned the MNPD’s Office of Professional Accountability has delivered their final recommendations. During the investigation, the OPA even discovered another officer that was involved, Tim Morgan, in addition to the six we previously discovered. After a full investigations was completed for each officer, here are the recommended sanctions:
Name | Sanction |
Sgt Kim Forsyth | Demotion from SGT to police officer |
Sgt Melvin Brown | Demotion from SGT to police officer |
Ofc Brandon Wood | 10 day suspension |
Ofc Craig Oakley | 5 day suspension |
Ofc Andy Esqueda | 3 day suspension |
Ofc Tim Morgan | 2 day suspension |
Ofc David Snowden | 2 day suspension |
In addition to the sanctions above, each will also receive mandatory remedial training related to the topics of law enforcement and the transgender community, diversity and inclusion, and social media. In the event that one of the officers does not accept the recommended demotion or suspension, they can request a formal disciplinary hearing under department and civil service rules.
In October, MNPD Spokesperson Don Aaron told us:
“The social media comments you have presented to us absolutely do not reflect the values of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, which, including professional support staff, has nearly 2,000 employees. This is a very serious matter”, and reminded citizens that “Our city’s diversity is one of its strengths…”
The Nashville Fire Department concluded their findings on December 6th, and found that engineer Joseph Knipfer and Firefighter Michael Wayne Jr., made social media postings that did not alight with their core values as a department. Knipfer was issued a written reprimand for comments he posted, and Wayne was issued a written reprimand as well as a one day suspension for posting one of the photos. NFD is also requiring additional diversity training for the two.
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