Report: Anti-Gun Rep. Briley Kicks Out Patrol Car Window

[Pat McGarrity]

For anyone not familiar with Rep. Bob Briley (D-Nashville), he has repeatedly opposed our gun rights in Tennessee. He has been on the powerful House Judiciary Committee for many years and now chairs it.

Just a couple of examples of Rep. Briley’s position on guns:

Rep. Briley does not trust the most law-abiding group in America, Carry Permit Holders. He opposed upgrading our handgun carry permits to weapons carry permits, saying we might poach deer, which is already illegal.

Besides protecting Bambi, Rep. Briley has fought to make sure violent criminals are the only ones armed in Tennessee restaurants that serve alcohol. Although there is no evidence to justify such an infringement on our right to self-protection, he believes it should stop at the door to Applebee’s. Rep. Briley may not know much about the Constitution, however; he does know a thing or two about alcohol.

In Liberty,

Patriot Pat

Republicans demand resignation of Rep. Briley after DUI arrest
Report: Briley finished drink at gunpoint after 100 mph chase

By Jim Balloch (Contact), Tom Humphrey (Contact)
Originally published 11:21 a.m., September 10, 2007
Updated 05:09 p.m., September 10, 2007


Rob Briley

Related documents
View documents related to State Rep. Rob Briley's arrest
The arrest report
Affidavit of complaint: Evading arrest
Affidavit of complaint: DUI
Affidavit of complaint: Implied consent


Republican leaders are calling for state Rep. Rob Briley to resign after his arrest for drunken driving over the weekend, a partisan move House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh called “pretty lowlife.”
A heavily intoxicated Briley, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, fled the scene of an accident in DeKalb County on Saturday afternoon, then led police in Wilson County on a 100-mile-an-hour chase before finally stopping, according to police reports and court documents.

The Nashville Democrat was arrested at gunpoint after stopping his SUV in the middle of the road and is alleged to have kicked the window of a patrol car while in custody.

Briley, 40, a lawyer, was booked at the Wilson County jail shortly before 6 p.m. on charges of DUI, evading arrest and violation of the implied consent law.

Naifeh said today that Briley suffers from alcoholism, was in treatment last fall and is preparing to enter treatment again. “I will do everything I possibly can to help Rob Briley down the road to recovery,” he said.

Briley is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. House rules require that a legislator indicted by a grand jury on felony charges be removed from leadership positions. The charges against Briley are contained in warrants and have not been reviewed by a grand jury yet. All the charges are misdemeanors except for the evading arrest charge.

According to state law (TCA 39-16-603), it is a Class E felony to evade arrest in a motor vehicle and a Class D felony if the attempt to flee in a motor vehicle “creates a risk of death or injury to innocent bystanders or other third parties.”

In cases of misdemeanors, it is up to Naifeh to decide whether Briley will lose a leadership position. Naifeh, speaking to reporters this afternoon, said he will wait until more information is available — and until he has talked with Briley following rehabilitation treatment — to make any decision on the Nashville lawmaker’s status.

House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, meanwhile, issued a statement saying that Briley should resign from the Legislature. A similar statement was issued by state Republican Chairman Robin Smith.

Says Casada: “As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I submit that Rep. Briley is held to an even higher standard as his committee is directly responsible for preventing this type of crime. As an attorney, he knows full well that his actions were a blatant violation of the law and were not fitting for a state representative. His district deserves better. Tennessee deserves better.”

Naifeh said he was aware of “naysayers” who were attempting to turn Briley’s situation to partisan advantage.

“I think that’s pretty lowlife. I have absolutely no use for those people,” said Naifeh.

According to warrants filed in Wilson County Sessions Court, Briley was clocked at 72 mph in a 45-mph zone of Sparta Pike.

Watertown Police Department Officer Ricky Lucy fell in behind the speeding Nissan SUV and turned on his blue lights and siren.

Briley glanced back, then sped up, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, according to the arrest report filed by Lucy.

When Briley finally stopped in the middle of the road, Lucy and another officer approached the vehicle with guns drawn.

Briley got out of the vehicle with his hands raised, but then went back to the SUV and drank from a blue plastic cup, Lucy’s report stated.

Briley “had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage … also had red watery eyes,” failed a field sobriety test and appeared to be in a “high level of intoxication,” according to the warrants signed by Lucy.

Briley complained to the arresting officers of injuries to his hand and elbow and said he had been taking anti-depressant medicine that occasionally made him dizzy.

Lucy said in his report that he began to give Briley field sobriety tests but that Briley was so unstable on his feet that “I felt any further (testing) would be dangerous.”

An empty bottle of Maker’s Mark and bottles of medication were found inside the vehicle, according to the report.

In connection with a traffic accident that occurred earlier in DeKalb County, Briley has been cited by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for leaving the scene of an accident, following too closely and failure to give notice of an accident, THP spokesman Mike Browning confirmed today.

In that accident, a 2005 Nissan SUV hit the rear end of a pickup truck on Highway 70 in Dowell Town.

Witnesses in the pickup truck told troopers that the SUV then made a U-turn and left the scene, Browning said.

There were no injuries. The final report of that accident was not immediately available.

Briley was released to the custody of his mother, GeAnne Briley, shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday. He did not have to post bond. A court date is set for Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. in Wilson County Sessions Court.

He was rearrested today on a charge of vandalism in connection with an estimated $1,500 damage caused when he allegedly kicked the patrol car window.

Briley, grandson of the late Nashville Mayor Beverly Briley, is one of the Legislature’s most powerful members. Besides chairing the Judiciary Committee, which deals with all bills involving the criminal justice system, he is a member of the House Ethics Committee and played a central role in shaping ethics legislation that was enacted by the General Assembly last year.

The judiciary committee is scheduled to review a proposal to overhaul of the state’s drunken-driving laws next year. Briley has asked the sponsors of several DUI-related proposals to delay their bills in lieu of a comprehensive DUI bill.

Briley is also a member of the powerful House Finance Committee, which rules on all bills that involve spending or taxes. This year, he sponsored 67 bills — 10 of which became law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More details as they develop online and in Tuesday’s News Sentinel.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

Related story:

Rep. Briley had previous contact with Metro Police
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