on December 11th 2022 First Amendment auditor Jeremiah Payne his wife and their 5-year-old daughter were walking in a Springfield Tennessee neighborhood when they accidentally dropped a bag of candy in front of the home of off-duty Metro Nashville Police Department detective William Thor good detective Thor good assuming the bag was trash flashed his badge and asked the family to pick it up after complying Mr Payne asked for the detective's name and badge number then began recording the interaction stop yeah it's her candy I apologize it fell out on your knees put your hands behind your back Sir what the you doing sir sir make on my phone man Sam my phone what are you doing hey're H back we're homeless you ain't a cop man and we're just walking me we're just walking AC what the and I didn't do nothing all I did was your am I going to have a problem with you no my daddy you smash my phone man okay calm down calm down can we please just walk you please let me no stop stop stop give me my phone give me my phone take your phone we're just trying to watch the is wrong with you dude let's just go don't go st stop look we're just trying to walk I'm not being doesn't get hit yes we're just trying to walk your get out the road so your kid doesn't get hit we're just trying to watch your guys guys please we're just trying you assaulted me dude and it's own video St no we tried that okay I don't call the cops they're not going to do nothing officer Thor good ordered Mr Payne to put his hands behind his back threw him to the ground and placed his knee on Mr Payne's neck for several seconds under Tennessee law assault occurs when someone intentionally or recklessly causes injury or fear of injury or makes offensive contact aggravated assault involves Serious injury death or strangulation while officer Thor Good's actions likely constituted misdemeanor assault it's unlikely they would qualify as aggravated assault since Mr Pain's injuries though serious probably wouldn't meet the legal definition of extreme physical pain under Tennessee law cuz I didn't do nothing wrong you assaulted me I need I need an officer at 400 yes I was assaulted you get I I don't want your dad to go get in the bu it's okay it's okay see what you're doing to my daughter dude piece of We're just trying to watch very disruptive oh because I'm he just attacked me come here I I have it on video J stop J just stop it's not worth it let's just go my name's William oh my God William is his name th good I'm just trying to watch the get away from me stay away from me I would just like to walk no we're leaving no no no you're not going you're not a cop to detain me for the police officers you are not a c hey he's trying to kidnap me help yeah help he's trying to say I'm trying to kidnap him now he's trying to hold me against my will get come on walk now walk now walk now you ain't married to him you married to me you better come on sir sir we're not going to do not going to turn us into a domestic situation you're a tiing if you're a cop he identified as a cop so if he's not really a cop this dude pretended to be a cop D to go to jail okay we don't want your daddy to go to jail either acting a little strange we not really you just attacked me sir you're starting to scare me and you're making me nervous you just attacked me yeah you're lucky you didn't get shot dude I haven't seen any weapons they're homeless no that don't mean I don't have weapons we don't have well now he's threatening me he's saying he has a weapon no I didn't threaten you it's on video you liar no we don't have I said because I'm homeless don't mean I don't have weapons he didn't say he didn't say he had a weapon he said because I'm homeless doesn't mean I don't have a weapon after allowing Mr Payne to stand officer Thor good called 911 and repeatedly told Mr Payne he was detained despite Mr Payne claiming it was a kidnapping under Tennessee law false imprisonment occurs when someone unlawfully confines another and kidnapping involves false imprisonment with substantial risk of bodily injury while officer Thor Good's actions could potentially lead to charges of false imprisonment or kidnapping they might also fall under official oppression or official misconduct as knowingly subjected Mr Payne to unlawful detention and mistreatment using his authority improperly I live in this house right here M off duty Metro the they're coming through and they threw trash in another person's yard and they threw trash in my yard so I I confronted him MH I was actually being really nice to him and his wife and asked him to just pick it up and go then he starts filming me and yelling at me so I approached him we got in a little tussle vide lie cuz you're going to see all on video and now it just got to a point where I was like I got to call you guys out so that's where we are I don't want to prosecute or anything like that I really just wanted to leave but want to got to the point of like us doing this I've been trying to talk with him haven't had a whole lot of love just homeless and that's who we are like I ain't trying to turn this into like a YouTube thing you know whatever he seems like a good guy he's got what's that you're about to be famous dude ask them they know who I am do M all right great you [ __ ] up what's he do like a is what it is it but let all right if you want to go back in your driveway all right sounds good thanks guys yep no I'm not man all because I pulled my phone out and asked him for his name and badge number and you can see on the video he charges at me throws me to the ground said you're under arrest I'm putting you in handcuffs and yeah yeah had me had his bag of candy is we he had his in throat one hold on one at time okay sorry we walking over and accidentally dropped Sky's candy he thought I dropped her trash and his like out at the edge of his and I said no I'm sorry it's actually her bag of candy I didn't mean to drop it so I picked it up and he said okay well the next time I don't know it just kind of went from one thing to the next he idop so I said so what is your name and badge number if you're a cop and uh that's when he pulled out something out of his pocket I guess it's that badge he's holding and ran towards me threw me down on the ground put his knee in my throat literally had me down on the ground yeah that is true all because I asked for his name and badge number Pin said he was going to have him arrested and take him to jail and I'm like so I want to press charges on him I have it on video would you like to see it and I don't think you can I don't know if you can really arrest him you should put your hands on just because he's a cop he don't have qualified immunity keep your hands up all over a bag of candy that I picked up that I did not mean to drop and I even apologized that I dropped it yeah I didn't even know I dropped it we're just trying to we were just trying to cut through and walk to Kroger yeah just going to Kroger yeah we were coming from Walmart I'm just trying to go to the grocery store I have to get something to drink and then oh yeah I had to get something to drink and I dropped the bag of Handy that's here my Bluetooth is on you're really heavy sorry sorry I'm kind of shaky because I was just not excitement I swear you don't have to apologize I like your glasses stand over here if you guys want to grab your stuff bring it over here just a second okay I do want go ahead yeah okay he's got the whole thing on video Jeremiah was in the street he came over and said put your hands behind your back you can see his phone get tossed and he go you talk to about the rest who that guy talk about what when Jeremiah came on his property first I didn't don't I didn't see any of that on the video no we talked to him but but they weren't on his property when he did that they were in the middle of the street and it's on video he he literally attacked him and I don't know why what the things you can go about get the wrestling people for no reason they weren't on his property when did they were actually like down where my car is right over here I I'm I'm just saying if being that it's on video we're going to have a problem here being who he is too we're going to have a problem c not I mean it's recorded even if you did we're going to do a report for him cuz he's asking for it but and I do believe he's probably going to go get a warrant on I'm sure2 no I know because it's on video but this is what Jeremiah does and that's what he's this is exactly what he's been trying to do yeah and this guy let him do it well yes he yes he does he's a cop these guys weren't on his property at the time that he just attacked them I don't blame them I listen regardless he should know he should know if you're being reported it's probably going to go somewhere and they want on your property when you just attack them they have left problem I'm going to get out of here I was trying to detain him and arrest him for CU I asked him to leave I guess he saw the video I just didn't have cuffs on me to put on him so I just said all right I'm gonna pop up and that's when I called 911 yes sir so so can you go back to the beginning I know you said you saw him walking on the Corner House push the cart around here I was in my kitchen area do a giant bag of trash right here in my front yard so I came out and said hey guys police I need you to pick up the trash and I need you to leave the neighborhood she came over and they gave me a bunch of of lip so that's when I'll show my badge and I said guys I'm police I need you to get out that's when he started filming me and you guys picked up from there with the video so I'd like to charge him or prosecute him at this point if he wants to make a big deal but I really just want him to leave the neighborhood well they're allowed to be walking on the public Road it's not like a gated community but it's littering is a crime too I mean yeah I know he's homeless he gets his right Officer Thor good expressed a desire to prosecute Mr Payne for littering if he continued to make a big deal about it despite primarily wanting him to leave the area officer John Antonio reminded Thor good that Mr Payne and his family were allowed on the public Street while officer Thor for good sided littering as a crime under Tennessee law littering involves knowingly leaving trash without removing it since the family picked up the dropped bag of candy immediately there were no grounds for littering charges a court would likely conclude that Thor good had no probable cause for the arrest attempt hey so I guess he's going to do the report but he went and attacked this guy when he wasn't even on his property like threw him to to the ground and everything and it's all on video over some trash that they threw in the in his yard but picked up they weren't in his prop on his property when he went after Jeremiah at all and from there you see him leave his driveway and go into the street and then attack Jeremiah yes all on video yeah no he's not well he said that he he was he wasn't he didn't think we should arrest for that but easily that's what I'm saying but you might it being on video is yeah it's a problem and he shows his badge and says I'm a cop and everything and he was trying to arrest him in the middle of the street he told him to get his hands and put them behind his back and Jeremiah's filming as as he always does and then he comes at him and you can literally see the scuffle on camera the whole camera like starts shaking and crap his daughter's screaming and crying and he said he had his knee on the back of his neck yes okay Jeremiah is that your name mhm okay detective William thorough good with Metro Police okay mm all right not trying to hurt you don't want to scare you I'm really sorry for the confrontation I had in front of your child okay I feel really bad about that and I just want to apologize to you so I am sorry for upsetting your kid especially around the holiday season so yeah cuz she's never going to forget that now and she's going to look at cops as pieces of sh shits because of you you're absolutely right I'm taking that into consideration apologize to you I try to teach my kid that not all cops are bad there are good cops and then you come out and do [ __ ] like that trying to be a good one so please just hear me out okay Jeremiah all right can you hear me out I hear you all right let me just swallow my pride here and say I apologize for upsetting you and your family okay thank you that that that that's would you like a nugget yes yeah but I'm not going to take for you guys in holid so I'm trying to be man enough and apologize which is a hard thing for cops to do I just hope that my apolog I just didn't like the litter in my yard that's she didn't mean to drop it but to go to that extent because I pulled out my phone and asked you for your name and badge number really come on now that that's right but that's being a tyrant Jeremiah listen to me do you not agree with that hey she's 100% you're right and I apologize and I want you to understand how hard it is for me to oh I know how hard it is for cops I know I'm a First Amendment auditor I know all right after officer Thor good apologized Mr Payne agreed not to press charges but later alleged that Thor good gave him $80 to not post the video which he did anyway the following day Thor good self-reported and was placed under investigation Mr Payne went to the DA's office to pursue charges but a grand jury declined to died Thor good on two felony assault charges Mr Payne now plans to take civil legal action on June 5th 2024 private investigator and ex cop Mr Hoffman was conducting surveillance for a workers's compensation case in hilard Florida the adult subject drove to a local church with miners Hoffman initially observed from a nearby grocery store parking lot but moved closer to the church when activities began outside after being asked to leave the church property Hoffman complied and returned to the original lot despite this someone from the church called 911 accusing Hoffman of filming children what's going on brother what's going on man hey we're getting phone calls that you're with bacular is watching kids yeah why I'm working working what I'm not watching kids okay what are you doing then I'm investigator all right did you call the Sheriff's Office to say that no you're supposed to do that you got some ID on your brother and you're in the middle of the parking lot not even in a parking space okay you're you're in the middle of the roadway do you have ID on you or not committ clme anytime that you are a private investigator do you have a Florida ID on you I have my investigator Rel sir so typically you're supposed to notify the sheriff's office if you're going to be doing any Private Investigations whatsoever but you're also blocking the flow of traffic right here how long you going to be here for I'm not sure okay all right well stand by for just a minute are you investigating somebody at the church I can't discuss that 90111 you come over here and 77 hey officer I'm the pastor over there what's up brother so when I pulled up a few minutes ago he had the left hand corner of it shade up and he was filming kids yeah so that's why that's why we got Mom want to stay back over there brother go back over there huh I have a you don't have a right hear anything you go back over there I'll talk to you in a minute okay okay I'll talk to you over here yep tell him to stay over there he says he's a private investigator here's his ID I didn't get a chance to run him yet doesn't even right to film kids oh I know 100% he's supposed to also call the Sheriff's Office and say that you know hey we're doing this that and the other so I want him trespassed I don't want him near it and if you if he's not on if he's not on the property I can't trespass him well he was on the property he was on the property when it was right there when I pulled up it film in a kit okay so you can hear it I mean I saw you filming a kid with your window thing up you're videoing it from our parking lot is against the law lock him up thank you all right well hey let me get your outa if you want to the pastor claimed it was illegal for Mr Hoffman to film children but it's generally legal to film in public spaces including children where there's no expectation of privacy courts like in state V Oatman have upheld that non-obscene filming in public is protected by the First Amendment while the pastor could ask Kaufman to leave the property it's unlikely his actions violated any laws since he was surveilling an adult not specifically filming children yeah list legally account it's okay what is your name and badge number sir um officer Dan Jones 1198 thank you I appreciate that c all right yeah go there solicit Tres uh there's some guy we're trespassing him from the journey over there um he's basically filming people at the Journey Church from y's parking lot um is the manager available yes J Mr Huffman can I ask you a question yes sir I know you're a prate investigator I see your credentials but there's two parts of this for me for me all right my grandson's over there the I just added to the so you see where I'm concerned you don't see a concern that I have a grandson across the street sir what are you holding in your hands your ID it's a state issue ID saying I'm an investigator mhm now what would that LE you to be being a law enforcement would that you're investigating something okay then why would you have a suspicion that I'm a bad guy I'm I'm I at this point iation you're making sir at this point I don't okay but as a concerned grandfather I have a concern absolutely but I've presented you with an ID mhm I've identified who I am I'm not hiding from anything correct I the credentials I presented you present a certain situation would lead you to believe okay this guy's working a case okay all right that's all I had to know that's all you had to say that's common sense I would think watch this guys do filing kids man they were there with a video camera filming our kidss at vbx well I come over here because I wanted them to understand it happened on our property not on public property right they didn't have our permission to do it he have permission to be there is he a private investigator he's saying he is well if he is they're supposed to contact Sheriff's Office to let us know yeah the deputy claimed private investigators need to notify the sheriff's office before conducting investigations but there's no legal requirement for this in Florida licensed private investigators like Mr Hoffman are allowed to gather information for their clients while they must follow the same laws as any private citizen and can't trespass they can observe and record in public areas since the church parking lot was open to the public and Mr Hoffman left when asked it's unlikely a court would find he broke any laws yes sir that should be yes sir everybody was activated yes so he was seen on the property over there can't I can't give him a written warning just verbal warning for trespass yeah but you could ride an illegal parking ticket this far asix goes if they're doing trespass I don't think they will cuz he's not doing anything there no they haven't complained they got have a complain it they have to have a complaint order for you to trespassing from wind Dixie and wind Dixie hasn't complained and he has every right to be here until wind Dixie says they don't want him here hey good uh there's this guy is filming kids The Journey Church across the street he's parked and y'all F uh I spoke with the manag when Dixie 43 they definitely wantes said don't want anybody am I as of right now yes sir you are you are being trespassed from the wind Dixie for spe spe of what crime I being detained as of right now you were videoing from across the street that's what our call was about and now that they want you trespass you being in the tank who wants to trespass when Dix when Dix trespass so I'm being detained for trespass cently you understand how the law reads tresp I must first be given the opportunity to leave the property when told by a proper agent of that property was I given that opportunity oh once again am I being detained once I give you this trespass War you'll be able to leave so sir that's a yes or no question am I being detained for suspicion of what's crime the deputies informed Mr Hoffman that he was being detained while they issued a trespass warning however they did not respond when he asked what crime he was suspected of committing generally officers cannot detain someone without Reasonable Suspicion of illegal activity in Florida trespassing requires either refusing to leave private property after being asked or entering posted property without permission since Mr Hoffman had already left when asked the officers likely didn't have the legal right to detain him while issuing the warning a court would probably conclude the detention was unjustified are you deaf sir okay well you guys I tell you you all earn your reputation nowadays it's disgusting you all sit around your departments and wonder why the public feels the way they feel you all hide behind the words like safety children is there a supervisor on scene no she's not here I'd like I like to have a supervisor on scene I also like to have business cards from each and every Deputy that's on location right now okay you're welcome to have that and we can contact the sergeant and see if he close by can respond I appreciate that sir thank you mhm so close by you want to call the sergeant probably sir he probably is you can call him on if he wants to you close by your presence is being requested by the individual um also for a legal trespass to take place an agent of this property has to trespass me I'd like to be afforded the opportunity to speak to them and explain them probably what lies you told them to get the trustpass proper therefore abusing your Authority I believe that's uh under code us42 Mr Hoffman claims Deputy Jones abused his authority by soliciting a trespass from the wind Dixie manager through deception while it's not illegal for officers to ask Property Owners to trespass someone federal law prohibits officers from willfully violating constitutional rights Mr Hoffman could argue that the depuy's actions interfered with his First Amendment right to film though there's no right to be on private property without permission all right it works for me let go do it this guy thank you appreciate y'all yes sir I yeah I ask you asked them um I told him scout out here legally parked in your um in your uh parking spot and do yall want to trespass they're like yeah and that's all you said that's it is your body camera running it is okay thank you and I well I told him he's like got trespass from over there he's sitting there watching okay all I can do is get give him a verbal trespasser over there sir how long does it take to Rite a trespass he it should be about done I I I hear what you're saying but you got to look at it as our way you're legally parked you're filming or watching kids across the street it's weird okay right is that is that weird facts you don't know what I was doing across the street I'm on private property I'm not illegally parked on anything you sir have no Authority here right now the deputy claims Mr Hoffman is illegally parked but Hoffman argues that since he's on private property no laws are being broken law enforcement generally can't enforce parking rules on private property unless specific violations occur like blocking fire Lanes there's no law requiring parking only in marked spots so it's unlikely a court would deem Hoffman's par illegal asking them they they giv me Authority you get yeah you know what do you think any businessman a law enforcement officer walks in here and says hey we got a guy illegally parked you want him trespass you think any business are going to say no sir they bow down to law enforcement they lick your boots like the uneducated well I mean that just sounds like it's completely irrational like I'm talking to you normally and like you're you're upet I'm upset I'm upset but you're IL legally parked in a like driving not illegally parked you have no authority over this private property these aren't official parking spaces perhaps you should educate yourself in the Fourth Amendment and personal property private property and by them by two or three Witnesses they're saying you're over there watching kids you're you're over here like did you do any investigation well I'm asking you but you're acting irrational I don't have to answer question you're acting irrational iral I'm acting irrational because I exercise my rights I'm trying to investigate it and you're completely have to answer questions sir I presented a legal state ID that identifies me as a state liced investigator okay so like if I'm doing my job and somebody asked me something you know I'm doing this because XYZ like I don't I don't you know I you know how that's weird you know why cuz I can't stand law enforcement okay you all are nothing but tyrants well tell us how you really feel what is your name sir officer Dan Jones M Mr Jones you as a person as a man as a father as a husband as a brother as all those things I don't know you sir you could be a fantastic gentleman a good Christian gentleman sure I am I'm addressing you as a law enforcement officer fair enough but as a law enforcement agent okay you are given Authority you are given power you are protected by a corrupt system and you right now are abusing that power whether you believe it whether you think I'm right or not uh supervisor I've been detained here over 30 minutes you're not detained you're getting trespass warning from here and you're getting trespass warning from I am detained I'm not free to go he's had 30 minutes to write a trespass warning and I'm still here get out of here you've been trespassed from wind Dixie you've been trespassed from here you don't want to hear how my rights were violated you've been trespassed from here and you've been trespassed from there you have your chance to leave now you're detaining me so you need to leave not a problem hold after being warned that he was trespassed from both the church and the wind Dixie Mr Hoffman was allowed to leave without further incident he received a written trespass warning prohibiting him from returning to the wind Dixie for one year Mr Hoffman filed an internal affairs complaint but the investigation's results have not yet been released