Crime

ABC Student, Preacher, NAACP Branch President Fired From SRO Job

THE TENNESSEE TRIBUNE — While considering his options, a former school resource officer denies using unnecessary force when he protected a sixth-grade boy from a bully.

Published

7 years ago

January 20, 2019

Oakland Post

By Clint Confehr

COLUMBIA, TN — While considering his options, a former school resource officer denies using unnecessary force when he protected a sixth-grade boy from a bully.

Maury County’s Civil Service Board on Jan. 8 voted 4-1 to confirm Sheriff Bucky Rowland’s dismissal of T.D. “Donte” Byrdsong in December, Byrdsong and Rowland said.

“We’re still going through a process; waiting and praying that the truth will come out,” Byrdsong said.

Byrdsong is an American Baptist College student, a pastor, and the NAACP branch president here.

“No one wins in this situation,” Rowland said Tuesday. “It’s a very, very unfortunate incident … Deputy Byrdsong is a good man. He’s done a lot of good things in his time serving here at the Sheriff’s Department … I had to make the decision that I felt best that would best represent me and this department in how we go out and serve our citizens.”

Byrdsong’s attorney, Doak Patton, can file a civil appeal, and District Attorney Brent Cooper might present charges to a grand jury. No charge was filed by Tuesday afternoon.

In this story, the “bully” is Quentin; the victim, Juan.

Quentin “assaulted Juan two times” Nov. 30 and earlier, Byrdsong said. In a fourth incident, “I intervened and stood between [them at the gym]. Quentin broke the hold of a teacher and ran back in an attempt to assault Juan again. I was between the two, talking with Juan. When I looked up, I saw Quentin … deflected him with an open hand … [He] attempted to assault Juan again … I grabbed him and took him to the floor.”

WKRN and The (Columbia) Daily Herald quote Rowland from the board hearing: “You don’t deal with grown men on the street like this…

“Byrdsong cuts him off … turns the student and takes four or five shuffle steps away,” Rowland reportedly said, suggesting other controls, including handcuffs. But Byrdsong “chose to pick this student up above his shoulder and slam him to the ground.”

Asked about Rowland, Byrdsong said, “I really enjoyed working with [him] and his officers. I respect the leadership position … I have no ill things to say about [him] … In his opinion, the force used to defend and protect one child from a bully was excessive, contrary to [testimony of] Melvin Brown, an expert witness” who spoke to the Civil Service Board.

“Quentin has a history of violent and aggressive behavior,” Byrdsong said. “He’d already assaulted other students. This is a bully.”

Quentin’s parent alleged he suffered a concussion.

Of more than a dozen Maury SROs, only one is a woman, Byrdsong said. To his knowledge, he is the county’s second black SRO. Now, there’s none.

Maury County was 57 percent white, 41 percent black and 3.26 percent Hispanic in 2000.

Byrdsong, 27, started as a correctional officer in October 2017 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. He was certified by the Police Officers Standards and Training Commission in spring 2018. He became an SRO in spring 2018, was a patrol deputy during summer break, and resumed SRO work last fall. His salary was nearly $16 per hour.

“There’s some financial hardship for lack of employment,” said Byrdsong, executive pastor of Grace United Baptist Church, Columbia.

This article originally appeared in The Tennessee Tribune.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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5 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.