“(Solaren) assumed I was going to play along. And get on the stand and say that the letter was real and that the commission card was real,” Josh Jeter said.
Jack Byrd’s testimony came on the second day of an administrative law judge hearing to determine whether his company should be punished for 62 violations issued by the state department of commerce and insurance, which has a division that certifies law enforcement in the state.
“If we have somebody who’s impersonating a police officer, who is not a police officer, especially when they’re in a uniform presenting themselves as an official, I think that’s very troubling," said Paul Dillon, a private investigator
The owner of a security company accused of creating imposter police officers and using his rural property as a training ground says he owns a tank because “it’s just fun to have.”
In his first interview with WSMV4 Investigates, the owner of the security company accused by the state for putting the public at risk by creating “imposter police” said he’s done nothing wrong and vows to take legal action against the state if it tries to punish him.
Jack Byrd, the key figure in WSMV4′s “Thin Blurred Line” investigations, was arrested for DUI at 10:38 Thursday night on 1-40E in Hermitage, according to an arrest report.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem (D-Chattanooga) introduced a bill, requiring that all police officers working off duty as security wear the same identifying patch that is currently being created by the state commission that certifies law enforcement.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) -The state commission that governs police certification voted Friday to create a universal patch for off-duty law enforcement so the public can identify who is and isn’t a police officer.
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office is launching an investigation into potential “misuse” of their employees and policy violations by a Solaren, a Mt. Juliet security company.
As part of the investigation, police learned that Carr referred to himself as a police officer in Facebook messages, even though he lost his state certification to be a police officer when he resigned from the Millersville police department.
An examination by WSMV4 Investigates of those commission cards, and who received them, reveals connections between the turmoil in Millersville and our ongoing “Thin Blurred Line” investigation.
Byrd and Solaren have been at the center of a WSMV4 Investigation, “The Thin Blurred Line,” which revealed how the company is accused of hiring people who aren’t licensed police officers but wear police identification.
According to a police incident report, the driver of RAV4 was Chris Tubbs, the same person identified in our Thin Blurred Line investigation for posting pictures of himself wearing police identification while working security, though he is not a state certified law enforcement officer.
The four investigations center around the four people we identified in our reporting as wearing police badges and vests, but not are licensed by the state to be officers.
A WSMV4 Investigation found the Millersville Police Department has ties to Solaren Risk Management, a company accused of allowing uncertified people to wear police identification.
Shawver becomes the latest person identified in a WSMV4 Investigation for not being certified as a police officer, but wearing gear that identified himself as police.
“This is a public safety issue. These folks are indistinguishable from real police officers,” said attorney David Raybin, a former district attorney who represents law enforcement in Middle Tennessee.
