Nashville officer in early January’s fatal shooting has a record of use of force, escalations and suspensions

On Jan. 5, SWAT officers arrived at the home of Mark Capps to arrest him. Capps answered the door with a gun in his hand, according to police, and Officer Ashley Kendall Coon fatally shot him in seconds.

The incident left many who knew Capps with questions about why it escalated so quickly.

While Capps’ death is still under investigation, Coon’s personnel file, obtained by WPLN News, shows a history of use of force, escalations and suspensions. Since joining the Metro Nashville Police Department in 2008, Coon has filled out at least 20 use-of-force reports — an average of more than one a year.

Those reports detail several traffic stops — usually of Black men — that escalated. They include Coon’s wrestling a suspect to the ground or pulling his Taser. There were foot pursuits that landed suspects in the hospital.

At the end of each use-of-force report, a supervisor decides if the officer acted appropriately. And in each of Coon’s reports, a supervisor found his actions were appropriate.

Still, he was disciplined for some of his conduct — including a dangerous vehicle pursuit of a suspect. In total, Coon was suspended eight times in the first five years of his tenure on the force.

Coon did not return requests for comment. An MNPD spokesperson says that Coon’s last suspension was in 2013, and he was assigned to SWAT, a more high-pressure team, in 2021.

Some complaints go beyond use of force and conduct during chases. His files detail incidents where Coon made women uncomfortable. In one report Coon says he struck a woman on her backside to “distract” her.

Another woman went to police and said Coon inappropriately groped her breasts and touched her crotch during a body search. Coon and another officer claimed they followed proper protocols, and the complaint was investigated by the Office of Professional Accountability. When investigators could not reach the woman who filed the complaint, OPA found the allegation was not sustained.

And one case, in which Coon was disciplined, bears some resemblance to the Mark Capps incident.

Coon and other officers were trying to do a “knock and talk” with a neighbor, but no one was answering the door. Officers tried knocking on the side door. A man inside his home eventually answered with a gun. Officers responded by drawing their guns on him. The man would later call the police and say he thought officers were trying to invade his home and assault him.

The January shooting of Capps also involved officers approaching a house. In that case, a SWAT team that included Coon was attempting to serve warrants for Capps’ arrest after he allegedly held his wife and stepdaughter in their living room at gunpoint during the previous night. Police say Capps opened the door as SWAT officers approached the house.

MNPD says he was holding a gun. Just second later, body camera footage shows he was shot by Coon.