Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
THP trooper Ashley Smith to receive full oral hearing after POST reviews incident involving relative
Loading...
Summary
The Tennessee POST Commission voted to refer the case of former Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Ashley Smith to a full oral hearing after agency testimony described Smith taking her nephew from an arrest scene without notifying dispatch or activating recording devices.
The Tennessee POST Commission voted to refer the case of former Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Ashley Smith to a full oral hearing after an agency presentation and testimony from the respondent and counsel.
Lieutenant Colonel Spicer and Sergeant Richard T. Chow presented the department’s account: Smith used mobile data to locate a traffic stop involving her nephew, did not notify dispatch when she arrived, did not activate body-worn or in-car cameras and transported the nephew in a patrol car. "She told the trooper that she had stopped her that he had stopped her nephew and that she cannot handle much more than night," the agency investigator reported, describing communications at the scene.
The department told the commission Smith was terminated for cause and that the termination was upheld through internal appeals. The agency said Smith disobeyed a direct order from a sergeant to return to the post after she initially left the scene and later returned; the department’s investigators also said Smith failed to start required recording equipment and failed to check out with dispatch.
Defense counsel Daniel Newbern argued the case involved credibility disputes and mitigating factors: other officers on scene did not activate their cameras, some discipline findings were rejected at step 3 appeal, and the district attorney had testified that Smith did not negatively influence the criminal case involving the nephew. "The DA actually came to her bill and testified that miss Smith had no negative influence on this case whatsoever," Newbern said during the informal hearing.
Agency counsel disputed the defense account, pointing to testimony and phone records the agency says show Smith had contact with her nephew and knew details before arriving at the traffic stop. The agency said the combination of failing to notify dispatch, not activating recording devices and departing the scene with a subject in a patrol vehicle represented more than a minor procedural lapse.
After discussion, commissioners moved and approved referring the matter to a full oral hearing for additional evidence, including body-worn and dash-camera footage. The commission’s legal staff will coordinate scheduling with counsel and the agency.
