Current:Home > ScamsTennessee officials to pay $125K to settle claim they arrested a man for meme about fallen officer-InfoLens
Tennessee officials to pay $125K to settle claim they arrested a man for meme about fallen officer
View Date:2024-12-23 20:11:48
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities in Tennessee have settled a First Amendment lawsuit for $125,000, the plaintiff’s attorneys said Monday. The suit was filed by a man who said he was arrested over a disparaging social media post about a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.
Joshua Andrew Garton was arrested in January 2021 after posting a meme depicting two people urinating on a gravestone with a photo of a Dickson County sheriff’s officer who was fatally shot in 2018 pasted into the image. Garton’s attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in Nashville, saying their client’s First Amendment right to free speech was violated.
Garton’s post was captioned, “Just showing my respect to deputy Daniel Baker from the #dicksoncountypolicedepartment.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called in at the request of District Attorney Ray Crouch. Investigators determined the photo was taken from an album cover with a copy of Baker’s official work portrait “crudely” edited onto the grave, court documents show.
Garton was charged with harassment and jailed for nearly two weeks on a $76,000 bond until a Dickson County judge dismissed the charges.
“First Amendment retaliation is illegal, and law enforcement officials who arrest people for offending them will pay heavy consequences,” Garton’s lead counsel, Daniel Horwitz, said in a news release Monday. “Misbehaving government officials apologize with money, and Mr. Garton considers more than $10,000.00 per day that he was illegally incarcerated to be an acceptable apology.”
A copy of the notarized settlement signed by Garton was included in the news release, showing he agreed to accept $125,000 from the state to settle claims against two Tennessee Bureau of Investigation officials and Crouch, the district attorney. The agreement also says the government defendants are not admitting wrongdoing, liability or concession by settling, but instead are seeking to “avoid the burden and expense of continuing this litigation.”
A court filing Monday by Garton’s attorneys notified the judge of the settlement and said the lawsuit should be dismissed.
A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson declined to comment. Crouch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Documents released under a public records request filed by Horwitz show investigators believed Garton’s social media post could be perceived as threatening or intimidating to Baker’s surviving relatives — even though he did not send it to them.
“The trolls will do what trolls do. It appears they and the lawyers forget that there are surviving family members who have rights as well,” TBI Director David Rausch said in a text conversation included in the records.
The lawsuit argued Garton was the victim of “false arrest and malicious prosecution” with authorities “incarcerating him for weeks and broadcasting his mugshot and the fact of his arrest to news media and the public in retaliation for disrespecting police.”
veryGood! (24)
Related
- Footage shows Oklahoma officer throwing 70-year-old to the ground after traffic ticket
- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney shows up to basketball game with black eye
- 5 people are trapped in a cave in Slovenia after heavy rainfall causes water levels to rise
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard Makes Red Carpet Debut a Week After Prison Release
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- DeSantis’ State of the State address might be as much for Iowa voters as it is for Floridians
- A fire in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh guts more than 1,000 shelters
- Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay's husband files for divorce after four years of marriage
- The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
- How to deal with same-sex unions? It’s a question fracturing major Christian denominations
Ranking
- US overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for an enduring decline
- Homicide suspect sentenced to 25-plus years to 50-plus years in escape, kidnapping of elderly couple
- What sets Ravens apart from rest of NFL? For one, enviable depth to weather injuries
- Two hikers on snowshoes, hit by avalanche in Italian Alps near Switzerland, are dead, rescuers say
- Suspect in deadly 2023 Atlanta shooting is deemed not competent to stand trial
- AFC South playoff scenarios: Will Jaguars clinch, or can Texans and Colts win division?
- Interim president named at Grambling State while work begins to find next leader
- NBA reinstates Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green from indefinite suspension
Recommendation
-
Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
-
Roy Calne, a surgeon who led Europe’s first liver transplant, has died aged 93
-
Shop These Jaw-Dropping Home Deals for Finds up to 60% Off That Will Instantly Upgrade Your Space
-
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Makes Red Carpet Debut a Week After Prison Release
-
Louisiana mom arrested for making false kidnapping report after 'disagreement' with son
-
4.2 magnitude earthquake shakes Los Angeles, Orange County on Friday
-
Islamic State group claims responsibility for a minibus explosion in Afghan capital that killed 2
-
A fire in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh guts more than 1,000 shelters