Agents search home of ex-lieutenant facing scrutiny as police probe leak of school shooting evidence

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s criminal investigative agency has searched the home of a former Nashville police lieutenant who has faced scrutiny from his old department in an ongoing investigation of leaked evidence from a deadly school shooting, authorities have confirmed.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Josh DeVine confirmed Tuesday that the search warrant was executed on Sept. 17 as part of an ongoing investigation, but declined to offer more details. The Portland, Tennessee, address that agents searched is a home owned by former Nashville Police Lt. Garet Davidson, according to Robertson County property records.

The Associated Press left a message for a phone number believed to be associated with Davidson.

Authorities continue to investigate two rounds of leaks from the case file in The Covenant School shooting in March 2023 when a shooter killed three 9-year-old children and three adults at the private Christian school. Audrey Hale, the shooter who once attended the school, was killed by police but left behind at least 20 journals, a suicide note and an unpublished memoir, according to court filings.

Months ago, the Metro Nashville Police Department drew a connection to Davidson but stopped just short of outright accusing him of leaking the materials. A different lieutenant noted the links in a court declaration filed in June, while lawsuits played out over which of the shooter’s documents could be released publicly.

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In that filing, Nashville Police Lt. Alfredo Arevalo noted his division was investigating the leak of three pages from one journal to a conservative commentator who posted them to social media in November 2023. In the investigation, Davidson was given a copy of the criminal investigative file stored in a safe in his office where he only had the key and safe combination, Arevalo said.

Davidson has since left the force.

In his declaration, Arevalo noted Davidson has spoken about details from the Covenant investigative file on a radio show with Michael Leahy of Star News Digital Media, which owns The Tennessee Star, and on another program. Star News Digital Media is among the plaintiffs suing for access to the records.

Arevalo wrote that he is “appalled” by the leak and “saddened by the impact that this leak must have on the victims and families of the Covenant school shooting.”

The Tennessee Star published dozens of stories based on 80 pages of the Covenant shooter’s writings provided by an unnamed source. The outlet later released what it said was 90 pages of a journal written by Hale between January and March 2023.

Previously, Davidson garnered publicity by filing a complaint alleging the police department actively lobbied to gut the city’s community oversight board.

Ultimately, the judge in July ruled against the release of the shooter’s writings, reasoning that The Covenant School children and parents hold the copyright to any writings or other works created by the shooter. The decision is under appeal.

Part of the interest in the records stems from the fact that Hale, who police say was “assigned female at birth,” may have identified as a transgender man, and some pundits have floated the theory that the journals will reveal a planned hate crime against Christians.

In the public records lawsuits, the plaintiffs include news outlets, a gun rights group, a law enforcement nonprofit and state Sen. Todd Gardenhire. Star News Digital Media also is suing the FBI in federal court for the documents’ release.

As part of the effort to keep the records closed, Hale’s parents transferred ownership of Hale’s property to the victims’ families, who then argued in court that they should be allowed to determine who has access to them.

In addition to the copyright claims, the Covenant parents argued that releasing the documents would be traumatic for the families and could inspire copycat attacks.

Certain documents in the police file can be released once the case is officially closed, as long as they fall under Tennessee’s open records law.