Nashville Tennessean staff writer Kathy Carlson reports. Excerpt:
Two Metro police officers charged with violating department regulations by abusing or failing to report abuse of Hispanic residents will take polygraph tests Tuesday that will help Deputy Police Chief Deborah Faulkner decide the case.
The officers, Michael Mann and Jason Beddoe, were formally charged May 30 — 19 months after the investigation into the allegations of abuse had begun. Their hearing on the charges began yesterday but was recessed until the tests are completed.
Mann and Beddoe have maintained their innocence throughout the investigation. One of their lawyers, Chris Lisle, has called the charges ”baseless.”
The polygraph questions will aim ”to see if the officers have been truthful about the things they’ve been charged with,” said Phillip Davidson, co-counsel with Lisle.
Faulkner and lawyers for the officers agreed yesterday on an independent polygraph examiner to conduct the test away from police headquarters, police spokesman Don Aaron said. Faulkner will work with the examiner in developing the questions, he said.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Assistant Chief Deborah Y. Faulkner, Uniformed Services Bureau, should decide the case based on the evidence presented, not on the divinations of polygraph chartgazers. You can help set her straight on polygraphy by calling her at (615) 862-7721 or sending a note to MNPD Chief Emmett H. Turner at chief@police.nashville.org.