National Police Association sues to make trans-Nashville shooter Audrey Hale’s manifesto public

The National Police Association has filed a lawsuit to make the manifesto of transgender Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale public.

Hale’s manifesto has remained shrouded in secrecy since the March 27 Covenant Christian Academy massacre that killed three children and three school employees, with the gunman also shot dead by police.

But on April 28, NPA chief Ed Hutchinson and Tennessee investigator Clata Renee Brewer filed the lawsuit with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. They then filed an amended complaint on Friday quashing the “absurd” decision to withhold the manifesto again due to pending lawsuits.

Ceverything for the release has grown in recent weeks, as another mass shooting spree occurred in the country: 192 mass shootings so far this year and 647 mass shootings in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive, according to The New York Times.

The Tennessee Firearms Association also filed an administrative appeal against the materials, The USA Today Network reported.

Metro Nashville Police Department officials claimed the release was paused because their attorneys directed them to delay any release while the lawsuit progressed through the courts.

That pause came just days after the MNPD and the Tennessee governor announced that Hale’s writings would be released for public consumption.

The MNPD police, seeking their legal counsel, blamed the recent lawsuit for a change, according to The New York Post.

Attorney John Harris, who is representing former Tennessee Sheriff James Hammond and the Tennessee Firearms Association in the lawsuit, told the news outlet it was “an interesting turn of events.”

“If there was a plan to release some information…why isn’t that information released?” Harris said.

On April 27, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee assured the public in a tweet that Nashville authorities would release Hale’s writings and documents.

No details about the manifesto have been released and a motive for the shooting remains unclear.

On Friday, the National Police Association (NPA) announced the filing of an amended and supplemental complaint, in conjunction with its Tennessee investigator Clata Renee Brewer, against the Nashville and Davidson County governments for their new refusal to comply with a request for facts.

The Freedom of Information Act request asked for all of Hale’s writings, including a manifesto, recovered by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) related to the March 27 mass shooting

The FOIA also requested all records, including emails, text messages and other communications to and from the MNPD that mentioned or related to Audrey Hale’s writings recovered by the MNPD.

“It has been more than a month since the shooter was killed and the officers involved have been commended for their actions in the incident,” Doug Pierce, an attorney for the NPA, said, according to a news report. Edition.

“There is therefore no criminal case and there is no reasonable chance that any criminal case will ever arise in connection with this incident.”

“The Metro Nashville Police Department has tried to rely on a criminal procedure rule to deny public access, but those rules only cover a “criminal procedure,” Pierce added.

“Therefore, the Rules of Criminal Procedure provide no excuse for denying the public access to the files related to this incident.

“Since MNPD now seems to recognize that there is no criminal investigation, there is no longer an excuse why they have not complied with our request.”

According to the National Police Association, MNPD claimed that a criminal investigation was underway.

But the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations made it public at least twice that there was no ongoing criminal investigation, likely because Hale himself was murdered.

Once, on April 5, while addressing a meeting of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director David Rausch, who had revealed it had already been established from Hale’s writings, found that Hale was “acting alone.”

Again, a video interview with PAIN News was published April 14 asking Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Director David Rausch, “What are the next steps” since there will be no trial because the shooter is dead.”

Rausch had replied, “Unfortunately you’re right, this is it.” “The responsible person is no longer with us.”

On April 27, it was reported that MNPD will release Hale’s writings in some form at some point. The reported change in attitude by MNPD did not respond to the NPA’s requests for MNPD communications, nor did it indicate its intent to fully comply with a full release of all Hale writings, nor did it indicate that it would intent was to comply with a timeline, according to the release.

“The NPA believes that releasing the full material will benefit law enforcement and the public,” the NPA said.

“The writings of killers often provide critical insights into the factors that contribute to the development of criminal behavior.”

“The communication between MNPD and influencers who may have caused the MNPD to fail to comply with the FOIA statute will provide guidance in the future on how other departments can plan for and avoid similar interference.”