Nashville police chief: Illegal security issues require tougher laws

Security guards illegally worked during at least two Tennessee Titans games last year, and may have illegally worked other major Nashville events, according to information obtained from the state, the Metro Nashville Police Department and other sources.

A complaint filed by Metro points to a broader issue concerning safety at many of the venues that draw thousands to Nashville: There's little recourse if private companies or out-of-town police departments don't follow the state's security guard laws.

"If you're going to have regulations or statutes, then presumably they  exist for a purpose: for protecting the public," Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson recently told The Tennessean.

"If you don't have an enforcement mechanism, then how are you protecting the public?"

Fairview at crossroads amid ongoing investigations

Tennessee law states that if an officer employed outside of Nashville wants to work a private security gig in the city, that person must be a full-time officer with proper certifications and have their chief send notification to Metro police that there will be officers working in the city. It's a law that's written with population caveats so that it essentially only applies to Nashville.

The law is broken and ignored routinely by a variety of companies and officers from all over the state or country, Anderson said. But people attending Nashville events don't know the people in uniforms aren't necessarily Nashville police.

"When it's someone from the outside, unless we can gain all of that (required information) and have the same communication and coordination, then obviously, we could get into situations where frankly the public could be abused or the public may not be served correctly because we don’t have that coordinated effort," Anderson said, referring to officers coming to work in Nashville.

"And frankly, some of the people involved aren’t really qualified because they aren't really police officers."

Fairview PD faces culture issues

The efficacy of the law came into question recently following actions by the Fairview Police Department and a private security company called APEX Security Group. APEX provides security for Titans games and other events in Nashville, chiefly relying on off-duty or retired law enforcement officers to fill positions.

Documents obtained by The Tennessean show Fairview Police Chief Terry Harris told Nashville police a man named Ronnie Williams was a full-time detective with the department last fall for the purposes of working with APEX. Before joining the Fairview department, Williams had also worked as a manager with APEX, at times hiring Harris and other Fairview officers to work.

In October, Metro Capt. David Corman noted in an email to Harris that only full-time officers with the proper state certification could work the private security jobs. However, within days of receiving that note, Harris listed Williams as a detective in the legally required notifications sent to Metro.

Williams' job status was questioned when he was arrested in February on solicitation charges. At the time, it was reported that it was his first day as a full-time detective with the department. The charges have since been dropped.

Lt. Pat Stockdale, who's been on leave from the Fairview department amid multiple ongoing investigations regarding the small town police force, recently told The Tennessean he believes there was a quid pro quo relationship between Williams and Harris. After Williams hired Harris and other Fairview officers to work private events, Harris hired Williams to let him have a position that afforded the uniform and training necessary to get APEX jobs.

"I can tell you that a Fairview sergeant has made the analogy that he could look across the field and see nine Fairview officers at a Titans game, but there’s only 12 in patrol," Stockdale said. "So I mean, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist...These are lucrative gigs."

Williams denied any such relationship in an interview with WKRN. Harris and an APEX official in Nashville didn't respond to The Tennessean's requests for comment.

At various points during the fall, Corman sent notes to Fairview and to APEX notifying them that they weren't following state law, according to emails obtained by The Tennessean. Not all of those cases involved officers from Fairview; APEX hires guards from all over the state and country, Anderson said.

Eventually, Corman filed a formal complaint with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance about APEX hiring unregistered officers to work at two Titans games in December. After a state investigation in late May, APEX acknowledged it "failed to investigate and/or verify the individuals' credentials" before hiring them.

The company, whose officers routinely earn $25 to $30 per hour for working events, paid a $500 fine. Late Monday, Titans Vice President of Communications Jimmy Stanton said the team demanded APEX make several changes after learning of unregistered guards working at games, including a change in its leadership for future events at Nissan Stadium. Stanton said APEX agreed to all requested changes.

The process is the only one really available to Metro when it comes to potentially unscrupulous companies or officers from outside Nashville, acknowledged Department of Commerce and Insurance spokesman Kevin Walters.

"Metro has no way to stop it, deny it, and there is no recourse against the non-complying party, security company, or agency at all," Walters said in an email to The Tennessean.

Fairview officials may face some penalty as local officials and the FBI are looking into the department. And some private companies do a good job, Anderson said.

But others do not. So Anderson wants lawmakers find a way to give the state law more teeth. State Rep. Bill Beck, a Nashville Democrat whose district includes Nissan Stadium, said he'd support any law that would ensure the right people are working security jobs at the stadium.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.