Nashville, Tennessee

On November 15, 2021, twenty-four-year-old Carter and her mother, Kimberly Jones-Mbuyi, called the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) after Carter’s ex-husband, James Leggett, allegedly violated an order of protection by texting Carter and appearing outside her relative’s apartment with a gun. According to the lawsuit, officers told Carter and her mother that they could not arrest Leggett. Instead, Officer Jason Hees and another officer escorted the women back to Carter’s home, conducted a perimeter sweep, and then left. Leggett arrived within minutes and shot Carter, who later died from her injuries. An internal investigation conducted by the MNPD’s Office of Professional Accountability concluded that the officers should have performed a lethality assessment and verbally offered shelter and counseling to Carter. Hees was suspended for two days, but the second officer involved, who was in training, was not disciplined. In addition to the monetary settlement, the MNPD finalized two policy changes: requiring officers to activate their body-worn cameras when providing information about shelter and counseling to domestic violence victims, and requiring officers to issue a “be on the lookout” alert for individuals suspected of violating an order of protection.

Garrett was wrongfully convicted in 2004 for the 2000 killing of Velma Tharpe. He was convicted despite DNA evidence and internal conclusions by the District Attorney’s office and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as early as 2001 suggesting that he may be innocent. Garrett’s conviction was vacated in 2021 after the Conviction Review Unit of the District Attorney’s office uncovered misconduct such as fabricated confessions, the suppression of DNA evidence linking another man to the crime, and failures by top officials to act on exculpatory findings. Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn sharply criticized the District Attorney’s office and police for what he called “malfeasance,” noting that they knowingly left an innocent man in prison. The $1.2 million settlement marked the largest wrongful conviction payout in Nashville’s history.