A Metro Nashville police whistleblower has been indicted for stealing documents related to the Covenant School shooting, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
TBI agents arrested retired Lt. Garet Davidson on Tuesday after a nearly year-long investigation. Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk authorized the investigation last June when the Metro Nashville Police Department first alleged Davidson could’ve leaked pages of the Covenant School assailant’s journal to the Tennessee Star.
Weeks prior, Davidson had released a 61-page complaint alleging that MNPD worked with state lawmakers to curb the powers of community-led oversight of police. Davidson, who worked in MNPD’s equivalent of internal affairs, also alleged that MNPD leadership mishandled the investigation into the first leak of the assailant’s journal to conservative YouTuber Steven Crowder. MNPD ended that initial investigation in 2023 without identifying a suspect.
The Star had interviewed Davidson about his complaint shortly before releasing the leaked pages in 2024.
MNPD did not respond to WPLN’s questions regarding the arrest — or what action the department has taken to address the issues outlined in Davidson’s complaint.
Davidson alleged a pattern of harassment and discrimination within the department. He pointed to an example in which an MNPD lieutenant was investigated and found to have harassed female employees and had allegedly injured a female officer. Davidson claimed that the lieutenant was not demoted and that the officer he physically harmed was not consulted when determining his sanctions.
The former lieutenant was booked into the Davidson County jail Tuesday on a $150,000 bond.
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