Officer under investigation after four young men steal guns and ammo from car

By Rebecca Cardenas

Click here for updates on this story

    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Four young men are accused of a rash of vehicle break-ins in the Nashville area including stealing guns and ammo from a Metro Police officer’s car.

Officer Randall Smith is now under investigation for how he stored weapons in his vehicle and News 4 is looking into the Metro Police policy.

Thursday this group of men was arrested for breaking into several vehicles in north Nashville. One of them was a Metro Police vehicle, from which they took an AR-15 rifle, a Glock 48, 2 Glock pistol magazines, and a Glock pistol magazine with a tactical baseplate. The Glock pistol and two pistol magazines were later recovered.

Metro Police confirmed the police vehicle belonged to Smith. They are investigating how Smith stored his guns.

News4 look at the Metro Police handbook and the policy states the following:

“An employee storing a loaded firearm, for an extended period, shall keep the firearm in a locked case, rack, drawer or other “secure” device until its removal is authorized,” policy stated.

“An employee storing a firearm shall be responsible for the safety and security of the firearm unless another employee assumes the responsibility,” the policy went on to say.

A 2019 News 4 investigation found 18 cases of stolen police-issued guns across Middle Tennessee for five years. The majority is taken from cars.

“Is this just another reminder that police officers are human just like the rest of us and they’re gonna make mistakes?” News 4 asked.

“Absolutely, we all make mistakes,” retired Metro Police Officer Ken Alexandrow said.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.