Ten officers with the Nashville police department's specialized investigative unit will be reassigned following an unauthorized release of writings from the shooter who killed six people, including three children, at The Covenant School last year.
A spokesperson for Metro Nashville Police Department said Friday the officers, who have not been named, will transition out of the division next month.
“This is a reassignment, only,” said Kristin Mumford in an email.
To date, the department has been unable to identify the person who leaked pages from a school shooter’s journals to a conservative commentator nearly two months ago. The unsanctioned publication of documents came during an ongoing legal battle over whether they should be released as public records.
Police announced in December that they had “exhausted all available investigative avenues” while acknowledging that one former police detective who had images from the journal declined interview requests.
The department’s Office of Professional Accountability led the investigation, interviewing officers and forensically examining their electronic devices. According to police, investigators determined that three cellphone photos were taken of the journals just after they were discovered in the shooter’s vehicle by two detectives with the Specialized Investigations Division.
Police then said that they did not “have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees" when discussing the one former detective who refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Meanwhile, all 10 officers to be reassigned next month were questioned as part of the leak investigation.
Police have since forwarded the case file to Nashville's district attorney’s office, which promised to review the findings. The office has not announced any further actions.
The person who killed three 9-year-old children and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville this spring left behind at least 20 journals, a suicide note and a memoir, according to court filings. The writings have been the object of intense speculation and an open-records battle, with several groups suing to force Nashville officials to release them to the public.
Police initially said they intended to release the writings once they closed their investigation, which could take up to a year. Since then, a group of Covenant School parents have joined the lawsuit, arguing that none of the documents should ever be released. They say shooter Audrey Hale’s writings could traumatize their children and inspire copycats.
The three children who were killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9 years old. The three adults were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school; custodian Mike Hill, 61; and 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.
Seven officers were assigned to administrative duties when the investigation into the leak began, but all of them have been returned to regular duties.
