Tennessee man arrested for internet post about dead police officer is awarded $125,000

---

A Tennessee man posted a meme to the internet in 2021 mocking a police officer who had died in the line of duty. He spent 12 days in jail before being released after harassment charges against him were dismissed. He sued state law enforcement officials for false arrest and malicious prosecution. 

Key Players

Joshua Garton, a resident of Dickson, Tennessee, and 28 years old at the time of his arrest, is disabled and suffers from mental illness.

W. Ray Crouch is the district attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, which encompasses five counties in northern Tennessee.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is the law enforcement agency that conducted the investigation into Garton’s actions. 

Further Details

In January 2021, Garton posted on Facebook an image depicting two men urinating on a tombstone that displayed a clearly photoshopped image of Sergeant Daniel Baker. Baker was a Dickson police officer who was killed in the line of duty in May 2018. The caption on the post read, “Just showing my respect to deputy Daniel Baker from the #dicksoncountypolicedepartment.” 

Crouch immediately called on the TBI to investigate the post. TBI officers visited Baker’s grave and quickly realized that it had not been desecrated and the image was of a different grave. In fact, the photo in question is of an album cover from a 2009 release, “Pissing On Your Grave,” by a band called The Rites.

Despite this, the TBI launched a manhunt and requested the public’s assistance finding the meme creator. Tips from the public and digital forensics quickly identified Garton as the person responsible. 

The TBI arrested Garton on Jan. 22, 2021, on charges of harassment and held him on $76,000 bail, which he was unable to post. Garton remained in jail until Feb. 3, when he was brought before a judge who found no probable cause to hold him and dismissed the harassment charge. Under Tennessee law, harassment is defined as conduct that intends to make a victim “frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed.” 

The TBI did not explain how a deceased person could be subject to harassment.   

While Garton was in jail, TBI members acknowledged in text messages uncovered later that “[we] violated his First Amendment rights” and that “he has a right to post. That doesn’t mean there are no consequences.”

Outcome 

Garton sues Crouch and the TBI

On April 27, 2021, Garton filed a lawsuit in Tennessee state court against Crouch and members of the TBI responsible for investigating him. He accused the law enforcement officers of malicious prosecution and false arrest under an invalid warrant obtained at Crouch’s request. (The suit was amended in August.) He also claimed that he was being punished for exercising his First Amendment rights.

According to the lawsuit, dozens, at a minimum, of individuals posted the same meme, but Garton was the only one arrested.

Daniel Horowitz, a First Amendment lawyer and Garton’s lead counsel, stated that he believed Crouch and the TBI “set out to arrest [Garton] for one thing, quickly realize they can’t, and make up something else in frustration.” 

Garton settles for $125,000

On Oct. 30, 2023, the parties settled the suit. The settlement requires Crouch and two TBI officials to pay Garton $125,000. The defendants do not admit wrongdoing, but seek to “avoid the burden and expense of continuing this litigation,” according to the settlement documents.

Horowitz praised the agreement, saying, “Misbehaving government officials apologize with money, and Mr. Garton considers more than $10,000.00 per day that he was illegally incarcerated to be an acceptable apology.” Brice Timmons, another of Garton’s attorneys, said, “We are proud to have protected that right for Tennesseans here.” The TBI did not comment.