A Stewart County, Tennessee school guidance counselor was indicted this week by a grand jury on charges of improperly changing academic records. The Tennessee
Man arrested over faked photo of Dickson police officer s grave sues TBI, DA, city for $1M Mariah Timms, Nashville Tennessean
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A man arrested over a social media post this year is suing Tennessee law enforcement for at least $1 million over what he believes is a violation of his First Amendment rights.
The arrest drew ire from civil rights attorneys as soon as it was announced and launched dozens of calls and complaints to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, court records show.
Joshua Andrew Garton, 28, posted an image on social media. He was then charged with harassment in January after investigators with the TBI accused him of creating and posting a harassing photograph on social media. He was jailed for nearly two weeks on a $76,000 bond until a Dickson County judge dismissed his charges Feb. 4.
Joshua Garton Sues Officers After Arrest For Anti-Police Meme lawandcrime.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lawandcrime.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Dickson woman was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2017 death of her husband in the first trial at the new Dickson County Justice Center and the county’s first trial amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deirdre Rich, 56, was convicted of first degree murder in the shotgun shooting death of husband Kevin Rich, 47, in Dickson County Circuit Court.
On March 20, 2017, county sheriff’s office deputies arrived that night to a home on Log Wall Road in Dickson in reference to a shooting. When deputies arrived, they discovered Kevin Rich lying on the floor with a gunshot wound and a shotgun was found on the floor near his feet, according to authorities.
But as Tennessee attorney
Daniel A. Horwitz, who specializes in First Amendment litigation noted, the specific conduct the TBI arrested Garton for is simply “not a crime.”
“The First Amendment clearly and unmistakably protects this man’s right to post an offensive photo about a police officer,” Horwitz told Law&Crime. “The only people who broke the law here were the police officers and TBI agents who participated in this flagrantly unconstitutional arrest.”
“This is the photo that our constitutionally illiterate law enforcement officers think is a crime to share,” Horwitz tweeted, attaching a screenshot of the picture that resulted in Garton’s arrest.