What could have been the silver bullet for understanding what happened to 18-year-old Grant Solomon on July 20, 2020, doesn’t exist, according to a response from the Gallatin (Tennessee) Police Department.
In late July 2023, Luna Shark Media filed an open records request asking for the body camera footage from all of the Gallatin officers who responded to the scene at Ward Performance Institute where Grant Solomon was reportedly hit and dragged to his death by his own pickup truck on July 20, 2020.
The reply finally came this month: there is no footage.
It is unknown whether or not body cam footage ever existed, or it is somehow no longer available, but we do know that Gallatin officers were equipped with body-worn cameras — the presence of their cameras played a part in them being named the nicest place in America by Reader’s Digest in 2017.
That designation came after a 2016 incident where Gallatin Police Chief Donald Bandy released body cam footage the day after an officer-involved shooting.
Gallatin’s camera usage and footage retention policies are unknown at this point, but we are going to submit an open records request to ascertain the department’s standard procedures for the devices.
While we do not have body camera footage, we do have at least part of the police report, though the part we do have is redacted in places, including a list of people labeled person 1, person 2, person 3, person 4, person 5 and person 6 down the left side of the page. The names and all identifying information is blacked out.
Note the smaller list, vehicle 1 and vehicle 2; both of which have all identifying information blacked out.
The officers say there were no witnesses. There is no statement from the WPI coaches included in the files we have, so who are these redacted people? One of the vehicles is likely Grant’s vehicle, but what is the second one?
We have reached out to the Gallatin Police Department for further information. You can expect updates in future episodes of True Sunlight and linked in the members lounge.
Contact Beth Braden
Beth Braden
Beth Braden is an award-winning investigative journalist who cut her reporting teeth in the hills and hollows of East Tennessee. She joined the LUNASHARK® Media team in 2023 as a researcher and journalist who handles FOIA requests, wading through and analyzing public records, and connecting with sources. She also provides a monthly update for premium members called Soundbites, which is a monthly review of everything happening at LUNASHARK®, and she occasionally writes and records for True Sunlight. Beth has her own solo podcast called Time of Death, which explores the 1992 homicide of Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam in East Tennessee.
Prior to joining the team, Beth’s newspaper work had taken her into deep-dive stories about faith-based serpent handling and Appalachian coal mining, as well as data journalism work to analyze euthanasia drug irregularities at an animal shelter, uncover the most dangerous intersections on her beat, and see whether or not the local judge’s rulings passed muster when cases were appealed to the state appellate court. And of course, she’s been to her fair share of court hearings, city council meetings, and board of education work sessions.
In addition to her newspaper experience, her byline appears on HGTV.com, nytimes.com, and other internationally known websites.
In her spare time, she enjoys quilting, rock climbing, strange museums, and good cups of coffee.
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