The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) on Thursday sent The Tennessee Star two video files and four pages of documents from the November 30, 2022, stop by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) of El Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has confirmed was suspected of human trafficking by troopers after being pulled over for speeding and failing to maintain his lane.
Despite The Star seeking video recorded by dashboard and body-worn cameras from all of the THP troopers involved in the traffic stop, TDOSHS included only the footage recorded by the trooper responsible for the stop. This is despite at least one of the other troopers’ body-worn cameras being visible in the video released by TDOSHS on Thursday.
Additionally, the state agency heavily redacted the audio corresponding to the trooper’s body-worn camera, removing large swathes of troopers’ questioning, Abrego Garcia’s responses, and law enforcement’s discussion from the video.
Notably, the missing video and audio files do not appear to correspond to the state and federal law cited by TDOSHS to The Star to explain the agency’s refusal to release other records related to the stop.
TDOSHS Senior Associate Counsel Casey Goggin and Associate Counsel Mary Petersen specifically claimed to The Star that elements unable to be released contained “personally identifiable information,” as defined under state and federal law.
Specifically, Goggin and Petersen claimed documents related to Abrego Garcia’s vehicle, a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado that DHS previously stated was owned by a convicted human smuggler, could not be released under the Tennessee Uniform Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act, which prohibits any government official from disclosing “personal information about any person obtained” by the Department of Moro Vehicles “in connection with a motor vehicle record.”
The attorneys similarly claimed that federal law, U.S.C. 2721, which restricts when state motor vehicle agencies are allowed to share private information, prohibits the release of documents related to the Silverado.
Finally, the TDOSHS attorneys claimed some information was redacted in accordance with Tennessee Code 10-7-504(i), which restricts state agencies from releasing “confidential information” gathered by the state agency.
None of these restrictions explain why significant portions of audio were redacted, nor why the agency declined to complete the request from The Star for “[a]ll body camera and dashboard camera footage,” including “the responding officer(s) who conducted the stop, interviewed Abrego Garcia and his passengers, as well as from the officers who coordinated with federal law enforcement during the stop.”
It is noteworthy that TDOSHS, despite telling The Star earlier this week that its response would be delayed, considering an active federal investigation involving Abrego Garcia by the U.S. Department of Justice, in its explanation for denying certain documents and videos, or heavily redacting the audio.
The Star was first to report that Abrego Garcia was stopped in Tennessee, and THP has confirmed the citizen of El Salvador was released, despite the DHS confirming their suspicion of human trafficking, at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI.”
Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador under the Trump administration in March and has claimed the action was in violation of a 2019 final deportation order. The order included a “withholding of removal” that barred his deportation to either Guatemala or El Salvador.
The El Salvadoran reportedly admitted to entering the United States illegally in 2012, and by 2019 was deemed likely to be a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) by two judges, though he has denied this claim.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
