Daniel Hambrick died in July 2018, when a Nashville police officer shot him twice in the back and once in the head as Hambrick ran away. Now, as Officer Andrew Delke heads to trial facing homicide charges over the fatal shooting, a website created by the local police union uses photos and Hambrick's criminal record in an attempt to vilify the deceased and paint Delke as the victim.
The website, TruthAboutDelke.com — which was first noted by The Tennessean — says Delke is being "unjustly prosecuted" and repeats Delke's claim that Hambrick pointed a gun at him during the foot chase that led to the fatal shooting. Prosecutors do not dispute that Hambrick had a gun, but argued in court last month that he could not have turned and pointed it at the officer. In her order sending the case to a grand jury — which subsequently indicted Delke — General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn wrote that while it was "possible" that Hambrick pointed his gun at Delke, it struck her as "improbable" given available evidence. The argument over that claim revolves around a small blindspot in surveillance footage of the incident.Â
The FOP website, though, is largely focused on Hambrick. It describes him as a "dangerous convicted felon" and includes a photo of Hambrick with a gun, which was not allowed into evidence by a lower court, and another that appears to show Hambrick smoking marijuana. However, other photos don't appear to show any criminal activity — some show Hambrick holding money, while two others simply show him posing for the camera. There is nothing obviously notable about those photos, unless one finds his tattoos or dreadlocks relevant to the case.Â
Although Hambrick did have a criminal record, his identity and background were not known to Delke at the time of the incident. As Blackburn wrote in her order last month: "The decision to pursue Mr. Hambrick on foot seems from this proof to have been prompted by mere assumptions. While this behavior was sufficient to cause Mr. Delke to exercise caution for his own safety, it did not justify the foot pursuit and the killing of a man suspected of no crime known to the defendant at that time."Â
At a court hearing this morning, during which attorneys argued over whether to allow evidence in the case to be made public, Delke's attorney, David Raybin, made repeated references to damaging information he had about Hambrick, information that would be released if the court decided discovery materials could be made public.
The Scene has reached out to FOP president James Smallwood about the website and and asked why the photos of Hambrick, and information about his criminal record, are relevant to the case. He has not responded as of this writing. Raybin has also not yet responded to a request for comment.Â
The police union has shown it is not above misleading campaigns against officer accountability. In the run-up to a citywide vote on whether to form a Community Oversight Board, the FOP ran television ads falsely describing the police oversight board as a $10 million tax hike. The Metro Nashville Police Department itself has also faced scrutiny for the way it framed the police shootings of Jocques Clemmons and Hambrick in their immediate aftermath. In both cases, the department quickly released mugshots of the deceased men as well as photos of the guns they were said to be carrying, directing negative attention toward men killed by their officers.Â
Update (5:20 p.m.): Smallwood sends this statement:
From the day of this incident, the District Attorney and others rushed to provide an incomplete and often inaccurate version of what happened. For example, even though the suspect was clearly seen on multiple video cameras carrying a loaded, semiautomatic handgun, the District Attorney chose not to disclose that to the public, fueling speculation that Officer Delke had shot an unarmed suspect.ÂIn that same spirit, the District Attorney and others have refused to acknowledge that the suspect committed a felony by fleeing from police in his car and then chose to run from Officer Delke while carrying a loaded handgun. That fact made this entire encounter much more dangerous. We are merely highlighting the full facts of this case so the public can get a true understanding of why Officer Delke defended his life when confronted with a dangerous, violent, and armed convicted felon who threatened his life on that day.
Update (5:35 p.m.): Asked where the FOP got the photos of Hambrick, and whether they received permission to use them, Smallwood says: "These were public photographs shared online for anyone to see."
