Yesterday, the Community Oversight Board learned of Officer Barrett Teague 's resignation from the MNPD after he serves a 30-day suspension. While we are satisfied with this administrative resolution, we believe that it is most important that the MNPD make an immediate request to the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to fully decertify Officer Teague. Decertification will assure that Officer Teague can no longer work as a police officer in the state of Tennessee.
Officer Teague's resignation from MNPD effectively ends the Community Oversight Board’s misconduct investigation. However, for civilian oversight to be truly effective, it must identify and address systemic failures rather than proceed solely on a case-by-case basis. Towards that end, the Community Oversight Board will continue to review this incident to determine if there were any systemic issues related to MNPD policy, practice, or training that may have contributed to the conduct depicted in the video of July 3, 2019. If the Community Oversight Board identifies any areas of concern in MNPD polices or practices, we will recommend improvements to deter any similar acts of misconduct from occurring in the future.