Governor signs ‘Dallas Law’ to tighten security guard training in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. June 2 2022 Less than nine months after a grieving Tennessee mother called for tighter regulations among security guards in downtown Nashville, a bill signed by Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday aims to do just that.
“Dallas’s Law” is a direct response to Dallas Jordan Barrett’s death. The 22-year-old Smyrna man, nicknamed DJ, died in August 2021 at the hands of security guards on the rooftop of Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Lower Broadway.
On the night of Aug. 16, 2021, bar staff told detectives Barrett had become unruly and was asked to leave. Officers were told that Barrett began to fight with security, who reportedly pulled him to the ground and held him on the floor.
Video taken by a bystander that night shows DJ being restrained on the ground. Moments later, he stopped moving.
“He begged to get up,” his mother, Tammy Barrett, told FOX 17 News back in September. “You could hear him say he can’t breathe. You can see him tapping to get out and they did not let him up.”
A medical examiner determined DJ died of asphyxiation. In early November, DJ’s death was ruled a homicide. Six of the seven men indicted in DJ’s death were working at the honky tonk that night.
In March 2022, Whiskey Row voluntarily paid the state of Tennessee a $26,000 fine as part of a consent order to avoid administrative action and a contested case, attorneys for Tammy Barrett said. Her lawyers provided documents showing the state investigated the incident and determined that four of the guards employed by Whiskey Row did not have proper registration cards to work as security guards at the time.
Since DJ’s death, Tammy Barrett says she has received messages from complete strangers describing violent encounters among security staff in downtown Nashville.
“These are people that I don’t know from Adam,” Barrett said. “So, I need to fight for this somehow. They killed my son for no reason. I want justice for my child.”
And justice has come full circle. Dallas’s Law will now close a loophole in security guard training by reducing the time from 15 to 10 days of employment wherein an unarmed security guard or officer applicant must complete general training and pass an examination. Current law exempts those employed as an unarmed security guard/officer by a proprietary security organization from such requirement. This amendment removes the exemption.
Dallas’s Law also requires training in de-escalation techniques and proper and safe restraint techniques. It further requires certification from the American Red Cross, or another qualified certifying agency approved by the commissioner, qualifying the applicant to administer emergency first aid and CPR.
“This bill is in direct response to the death of Dallas Jordan Barrett at Whiskey Row,” said Sen. Bill Beck. “During my investigation into the incident, I learned there is currently a loophole in the law that allows unarmed security guards employed by proprietary security organizations to be employed without any training. This bill intends to close that loophole.”
Last month, business owners in downtown Nashville called on Gov. Lee to veto the bill, saying while there are good intentions with the law, the punishment would be too harsh and violations could cost them the ability to serve alcohol for 30 days.
Lee signed the legislation on Wednesday, June 1. Tammy Barrett sent the following statement to FOX 17 News:
Today, my dream of making the establishments on Lower Broadway safer for ALL PATRONS has been fully realized! On June 1, 2022, Governor Bill Lee signed the bill entitled, “Dallas’s Law,” thereby enacting into law much-needed legislation respecting the licensing and training of unarmed security guards working in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages! My words are insufficient to express my heart-felt gratitude to Representative William (“Bill”) Beck for his fortitude and tireless efforts in sponsoring this bill and shepherding its passage through the Tennessee House of Representatives. Moreover, I wish to express my appreciation to Senator Jeff Yarbro for serving as the Senate sponsor of this bill. Now, because of the courage of Governor Lee, all unarmed security guards working in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages will be required to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and required to be trained in deescalation techniques, emergency procedures, general duties, and the limits of their power and authority. I cannot conceive of a more fitting manner in which to honor the memory of my son, Dallas Jordan Barrett, than passage of Dallas’s Law today.
FOX17
