Tangled Web for One Metro Officer Driving From Rutherford County to Nashville

November 4, 2009

A Nashville, Metro Police Officer who allegedly lied to his supervisors about being tied up in traffic in Rutherford County was fired for fabricating an oral report. According to a decision by the Court of Appeals in Nashville, Officer Chris Garner told the Sgt. in command that heavy traffic on Interstate 24 at 6-AM prevented him from picking up an unmarked patrol car to conduct surveillance at 6:15-AM. The incident was reported back in 2005, however, the issue over the firing was just recently handed to the court of appeals.

During Officer Garner’s drive into work from Rutherford County, he told the Sgt. in charge of his shift that he could only drive 40-miles per hour because of the traffic. Minutes later, he was pulled over by a State Trooper for driving 85-miles per hour. He then relayed to the Sgt. that he was pulled over for having expired tags. Not for speeding. Garner later blamed his wife for spending to much time in the bathroom for being late to work.

Garner was eventually fired. According to the court of appeals, the Police Department identified the statements by Ofc. Garner during the Nextel communications and the subsequent investigation the
Police Department deemed to be dishonest and for which Ofc. Garner should receive disciplinary action based on “[t]he totality of the circumstances surrounding [the] incident coupled with his
habitual tardiness.”

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