A Detailed Look at the Disciplinary Record of Officer Josh Lippert

Officer Josh LippertPhoto: Metro Nashville Police DepartmentIn his five years as a Metro Nashville police officer, leading up to his deadly encounter with Jocques Clemmons last week, Officer Josh Lippert had been suspended a total of 20 days as the result of disciplinary action.

The infractions which led to his suspensions vary, from negligence in the operation of his police vehicle causing an accident to failure to attend required training sessions, but they also include two incidents involving the use of force and a third in which Lippert and three other officers were accused of being physically abusive during an arrest — an allegation that was dismissed after the department's investigation.

In a release to media Monday evening, the department made available summary sheets concerning 8 disciplinary actions involving Lippert, offering general descriptions of the incidents. But a copy of Lippert's MNPD personnel file obtained by the Scene contains details of nearly all of them. (One incident confirmed by the MNPD is not included because it occurred more recently than the records obtained by the Scene.)

At a press conference on Monday, Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson, in response to a question about training, said that all Metro officers receive de-escalation training but that in the incident leading up to the Clemmons shooting — which, according to surveillance video, began when Lippert attempted a traffic stop and Clemmons rushed at him, body checking him before turning to run away (see update) — de-escalation wasn't an option.

In the past though, Lippert has been disciplined for unnecessarily escalating encounters with citizens.

A summary from the MNPD's investigation into the most recent incident — the details of which the Scene has not yet obtained — describes Lippert's judgment:

On 10/25/15, the officer displayed poor judgment in using physical force to extract a motorist from his vehicle on a traffic stop. The decision unnecessarily escalated the encounter when the motorist had indicated he was willing to voluntarily step from the car if a supervisor was present. Following the arrest, the suspect's car was towed without providing him an opportunity to park it or turn it over to someone else, as required by policy.

For that incident, Lippert was suspended eight days without pay. He served the suspension May 16 to May 23, 2016.

Nearly two and a half years prior to that encounter, on June 2, 2013, Lippert, according to the conclusion of an MNPD investigation, "used poor judgment while arresting a suspect, placing himself and others in danger. His actions created the necessity to use force against an intoxicated subject."

On that night, Lippert, who was patrolling downtown, was flagged down by security guards at Honky Tonk Central a little before 1 a.m. Security there had detained and handcuffed apparently intoxicated man who — according to Lippert's statement about the incident — they said had tried to walk out on a tab and become combative with them when they tried to stop him. Lippert's statement says "the staff advised me that they did not wish to prosecute; however I determined that [the man] was going to be arrested for Public Intoxication based on his level of intoxication." 

That's when, Lippert said, he removed the handcuffs security had placed on the man to swap them for his own and at that point the man attempted to strike Lippert and try to break free from security guards and Lippert, who were now trying to hold him down. In the struggle, during which Lippert said he continually told the man to stop resisting, Lippert would end up punching the man in the face and using his chemical spray on him.

According to a report on the incident by MNPD Sgt. Brian Brown:

As a result of removing those handcuffs, he placed yourself and others in danger. A danger that ultimately resulted in additional struggle and force use. His judgment effectively created the necessity to use force. The goal of the department is to de-escalate the situation, to minimize or eliminate the need for force use.

Lippert's "judgment here — in removing the handcuffs, failing to de-escalate the situation, failure to control the arrestee, and use of tactics which resulted in additional force use and place the arrestee and others at risk of injury" was a violation of department policy, Brown reported.

Brown also cited Lippert for "an excessive use of force" for "a closed hand strike to the head and face" and suggested that his use of chemical spray may also have been unnecessary, but noted that it came after the man had "attempted to assault him two separate times."

Brown recommended remedial training for Lippert and Lippert was suspended for three days, taken out of his vacation time.

In a third incident, which occurred in November 2012, a man filed a complaint with MNPD accusing several officers, including Lippert, of being verbally and physically abusive to him during an arrest following a domestic disturbance. The man told MNPD that as he was attempting to surrender to the officers, they told him to get on the ground. When he told them that he had a broken foot, the man said one of the officers told him "I don't give a fuck." Once he was on the ground and the officers were placing handcuffs on him, he alleged that an officer punched him in the leg 7 or 8 times.

However, an intake nurse at the Davidson County Sheriff's Office told MNPD investigators that, despite the man's claims that he had told a nurse about the incident, she did not recall the man complaining that he had been hit by an officer. Each of the officers involved told MNPD investigators that none of them had punched the man, but Lippert did acknowledge that he had cursed at him, telling him to "show me your fucking hands." The allegations of abusive treatment were found "not sustained" but Lippert did receive an oral reprimand for his use of profanity. 

Other infractions Lippert was disciplined for include missing two days of required training, smoking in his MNPD vehicle, negligence in the operation of a police vehicle — Lippert's record includes three accidents while driving his police vehicle — failure to submit an accident report in a timely manner, failure to appear in court and allowing a woman to wear his Metro Police Fleece jacket. (The woman who worked downtown, Lippert told investigators, had been vomited on two days prior and he told them he gave her the jacket "only as an attempt to be chivalrous." That act only came to light because a MNPD sergeant encountered the woman wearing the jacket and then encountered Lippert, arriving at a pizzeria to sit with her.)

On Monday evening, MNPD also provided information about a commendation Lippert had received. In 2014, he received the MNPD’s Lifesaving Award, along with another officer, for responding to a medical emergency at the Bridgestone Arena where an employee was unconscious and performing CPR until paramedics arrived. 

Lippert is currently on administrative assignment while MNPD investigates last week's shooting. 

Update 3:15 p.m.: A newly available video, from a different angle, clearly shows that Clemmons did not have a physical altercation with Lippert when the officer was exiting his vehicle, but rather attempted to run around Lippert before turning back and running the other way. Police say the video was not available until today due to a broken MDHA server that required repair.