Thursday, March 28, 2024

TN Sheriff Blames Beyonce’s ‘Formation’ Video for Shots Fired Into his Home

Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold
Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold

*A Tennessee sheriff whose home was allegedly shot at on Monday night believes he might have been targeted because of “Beyoncé’s “Formation” video.

In Tuesday’s press conference about the shooting at his home, Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold cited fatal police shootings in North Dakota, Georgia, and Maryland in recent weeks as the most plausible reason for the alleged attack.

“You do make people mad when you do do your job,” he said. “Once I kind of figured everything out, with everything that’s happened since the Super Bowl—since law enforcement as a whole, where we’ve lost five deputy sheriffs since the Super Bowl. You know, Beyoncé’s video—and that’s sort of bled over into other things, it seems like, within law enforcement.”

beyonce car

Beyoncé’s new single makes no mention of police, but the “Formation” video features a New Orleans police car being submerged in water. Her Super Bowl halftime performance, in which she and other dancers dressed in homage to the Black Panthers, was criticized by right-wing TV pundits in the past week.

Arnold said he couldn’t think of any other reason why he would be targeted “other than me being in my position, being the chief law enforcement officer in the county.”

However, the Daily Beast reports that Arnold has conveniently overlooked a number of other possible reasons for someone to shoot at his house.

He’s currently under investigation by the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “On April 10, 2015, at the request of District Attorney General Jennings Jones, TBI Agents began an investigation into activities regarding improper contracts used by the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department, including any specific party involved in the alleged activity,” TBI spokesperson Josh Devine told The Daily Beast. “Our investigation remains active and ongoing.”

The investigation into Arnold began after he listed e-cigarettes that he had sold to inmates as a source of income, according to Nashville’s WKRN. Arnold’s office, three homes, and the offices of the jail cigarette supplier, JailCigs, were all raided last May.
JailCigs was run by Arnold’s aunt and uncle, and Arnold told WSMV that his wife “works part-time answering phones for them.”

Also… as of last week, Arnold is the target of a $20 million lawsuit by the family of a man left brain-dead after being beaten in a Murfreesboro jail, despite repeated warnings of a potential attack from the parents of the alleged assaulter.

The family of Robert Lee Johnson, who was in jail for two months on misdemeanor charges before the assault, says the county is refusing to pay for medical treatment after the attack left Johnson without cognitive brain function.

Also…in 2014, Detective Jim Tramel won a $275,000 settlement after it was determined he was fired by Arnold for his political beliefs.

Arnold was sued again for the same reason in August of last year. McKayla Black contends she was unjustly terminated after supporting an Independent candidate for Sheriff. Arnold, a Republican, won 51.9 percent of the vote in 2014. The case is set to be heard later this year.

Arnold’s wife and children were home when shots were fired. Shell casings were found in the street, but no bullets were found in Arnold’s home. The sheriff says he’ll increase patrol around his house.

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