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Highway Patrol credits trooper deployments for reduced fatalities, faces questions on protest incidents and ICE cooperation
Summary
Colonel Matt Perry told the House Transportation Committee the Tennessee Highway Patrol has increased traffic stops and reduced fatalities, but members pressed the agency over protest videos and prior operations with ICE/287(g) agreements after members reported multiple stops in Nashville.
Tennessee Highway Patrol leaders told the House Transportation Committee on Feb. 3 that added troopers and targeted deployments contributed to recent reductions in fatal crashes, while lawmakers pressed the agency about crowd-control tactics at a January protest and past operations with federal immigration agents.
Colonel Matt Perry said the patrol has seen substantial declines in fatal crashes over the last two years, calling the reduction "260 down over the last 2 years," and saying the state was "just over 1000 fatalities statewide last year." He credited added personnel and data-driven deployments that place troopers where crash risk is highest and described other state deployments for storms, large events and school safety checks.
Perry highlighted school-safety patrols as a priority, saying THP performed about "40 a little over 40,000 school checks the first full year," "54 over 54,000 last year," and is "on pace to do 60 over 60,000 this year," arguing visibility reduces risk.
Lawmakers also pressed the patrol on several accountability themes. Representative Pearson and others asked about two Jan. 11 protest incidents in Nashville captured on video; members said one released video showed a protester being bumped and that a second video — which they said showed an injured protester diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome — had not been released. Perry said he was aware of the first video and did not believe the trooper bumped the protester, and said he was not familiar with the second video and would investigate its status. He reiterated that troopers were operating to clear people from roadways because "You can't block roadways. You can't block major thoroughfares. It's a hazard to everyone," and that troopers respond to probable-cause traffic violations.
Members also asked about prior coordinated operations with federal immigration authorities. Committee members cited a week of operations in Nashville where troopers worked with an ICE agent; Perry said troopers made probable-cause stops and an ICE agent remained inside THP vehicles until troopers determined further action was necessary. He said the agency was not conducting 'rogue' operations and that troopers were in control of the stops.
Perry addressed concerns about DUI investigations and cases reported as showing "0.0" in toxicology by saying impairment investigations are complex, that many factors and substances can be involved and that the agency is improving transparency on such cases. On internal oversight, he described THP's "Blue team" as an early-warning system that flags troopers for multiple incidents and triggers supervisory review and training or disciplinary action when appropriate: "Blue team is our system for ... we track everything a trooper does."
What’s next: Perry said the agency would follow up on outstanding requests about video release and continue improving reporting on DUI and toxicology matters. No committee action was taken during the hearing.
