Former Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) Sergeant, Donald Barnes, 53, has been charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault following an incident that occurred on March 7. Barnes, who was off-duty at the time, drove his personal SUV into a closed construction area on I-40 east near the Donelson Pike exit around 7:30 p.m., despite clear signage and barriers indicating the closure.
Construction workers at the site attempted to wave Barnes back to the open lanes, but he continued driving forward. After stopping with construction workers in front of his vehicle, Barnes engaged in a verbal altercation with one of them. During the confrontation, Barnes reportedly lunged his vehicle forward twice, hitting one of the workers on both occasions. Witnesses stated that Barnes identified himself as a Metro police officer during the altercation and was seen holding a pistol across his stomach, pointed towards the driver’s door where a worker was standing.
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Following the incident, the construction workers were able to record Barnes’s license plate number and reported it to the police. Barnes was decommissioned, meaning his police authority was removed, the next day on March 8, and an investigation was initiated. Prior to this event, Barnes had been assigned to patrol in the West Precinct.
Barnes surrendered himself for booking late this afternoon on the aggravated assault warrants. This case brings to light the serious consequences of off-duty conduct by law enforcement personnel.
For more information, images related to the case can be found at Nashville.gov.
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