Warner's girlfriend warned police he was building bombs in his RV last year

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/warners-girlfriend-warned-police-he-was-building-bombs-in-his-rv-last-year


Photo by: NewsChannel 5
Anthony Warner

By: Ben Hall

Posted at 8:25 PM, Dec 29, 2020 and last updated 9:30 PM, Dec 29, 2020

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Police were warned Anthony Warner was making bombs in his RV more than a year before his Christmas morning attack in downtown Nashville.

The tip came from Warner's distraught girlfriend in August of 2019.

SEE THE FULL POLICE REPORT HERE

Police went to Warner's home the day of the complaint, but were unable to make contact with him.

The case was later closed as unfounded.

The police report from August 21, 2019, shows police responded to the home of a woman who had threatened to kill herself.

She told officers that her boyfriend - Anthony Warner - "was building bombs in the RV trailer at his residence."

-/snip-

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Did they check the RV? nt

[safeinOhio]

2. Nope. No search warrant and

lots of cameras. They did not go inside the fence.

[LisaL]

3. No.

Didn't check an RV, weren't able to get in contact with Warner.

[SergeStorms]

41. Oh, well, might as well just forget it then, right?

If you can't find a person after looking once there's no worldly reason to try again. The amazing ignorance of some police departments surely baffles me.

[underpants]

4. No. They had no authority to enter the yard or search the RV

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that officers "saw no evidence of a crime and had no authority to enter his home or fenced property."

[OAITW r.2.0]

19. What about the complaint?

Seems tragically bizarre.

[DrToast]

28. Seems like something they could follow up on

They made one trip to his house and then closed the case?

[underpants]

31. They called.

and sent some info to the FBI.

[DrToast]

34. Well that's better

I wonder what the FBI did? Seems like more of a case for them anyway.

[AZ8theist]

49. Well...

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that officers "saw no evidence of a crime and had no authority to enter his home or fenced property."

Never stopped them from executing a person of color. So there's that.....

[ybbor]

50. That's what I was thinking, too

He was just a mentally disturbed, otherwise normal guy.

[Historic NY]

51. They failed to make an actual contact with the suspect...

Sloppy police work, where is the Detective followup.

[msfiddlestix]

5. according to the report, they did see the RV on the property but were unable to see into it.

they also observed what seemed to be extensive security systems hooked up at the location.

They they closed the case considered it "unfounded"

[OAITW r.2.0]

13. "Extensive Security Systems" noted?

Was that the sign of a good neighbor or future terrorist bomber?

[msfiddlestix]

16. I paraphrased the wording

I didn't commit to memory the exact wording, but the was essentially what they stated in the report.

[treestar]

57. The girlfriend's statement

might have been enough for a warrant. If it was detailed enough.

[msfiddlestix]

59. Hearing reports on msnbc that they had much detailed information

and was certainly cause for a warrant.. the questions on why they didn't move on this at the time is going loom large on those officers handling of this.

[treestar]

61. It does seem their side is never to be considered

and they are to be judged negatively, just because they are cops. And accused of racial bias to boot.

[msfiddlestix]

63. I'm sorry, but I don't understand this response as it relates to what I posted.

Don't want to appear to be dense, but big information gap for me. what did I miss?

[treestar]

65. Sorry must have been reacting to the thread in general

you only said it will loom large on them, how the cops will be judged on it, so I must went off on how the will likely be judged on DU, where the cops are always wrong and their side is not to be considered. But you did not do that, so sorry.

[msfiddlestix]

66. No worries. happens to me at times..

the problems with conversing through the ether like this sans facial expressions, vocal intonation and so forth can lead to that sort of thing at times.

[chowder66]

6. Nope. It was fenced off and there were several security cameras and wires attached to an alarm sign

on the front door.

No need for the police to think anything is wrong with wires attached to an alarm sign and a warning that he is capable of building bombs and was building bombs.

[Captain Zero]

43. it was end of shift; donut shop about to close.

nt

[chowder66]

47. Seems that way. nt

[RockRaven]

7. And there it is... It is exceedingly rare for these behaviors to pop up COMPLETELY out of the blue.

I wonder if the police would have closed the case as unfounded without ever seeing or speaking to the person if the complaint had been about a brown person... Or someone with a non-Anglo name... Or if instead of being described by the complaintant's lawyer as someone who "frequently talks about the military and bomb making" was instead described as someone who "frequently talks about jihadis and IEDs."

[iluvtennis]

42. + agree. nt

[rickford66]

8. A number of innocent people have had police burst into their homes.

What a shame they didn't follow up on this.

[tclambert]

40. Personally, I'm superstitious about bursting into homes of people who might have made bombs.

I'd let my less superstitious partner do it.

[treestar]

58. Too much generalization about "police" from the actions of one

Because that happened does not mean that every cop should burst into a home. We'd have more complaints about that. They are to follow the law, here they did, and they still are wrong.

Maybe they could have gotten a warrant from the girlfriend's evidence. Maybe they should have tried that. Or she may not have been credible (we have 20/20 hindsight).

[bullwinkle428]

9. Hey, kids! Time to play the "IF HE WAS BLACK" game!!

If he was black, the bomb squad would have been all over that property, along with the RV, on that very day. It would have been the full complement of personnel, bomb-sniffing dogs, and robots for extraction and removal. The neighborhood would have been cleared. He would have been taken away in shackles, and given the standard third-degree interrogation.

All of the above applies, perhaps even more so, if he was Muslim.

[Walleye]

17. And they possibly would've shot the girlfriend

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Or Muslim...

[treestar]

60. How do you know that?

Merely because some other cop in some other part of the country does a thing, you accuse these cops of doing it. Isn't that generalizing about people the very thing complained of? You are attributing evil to officers who never did anything but be police officers, and just because of that, you are accusing them of racial bias. And if they search a black person's property without a warrant, they will be challenged in court, too. And there is such a thing as black cops, for all you know, you are accusing black cops of the same thing.

[Progressive Jones]

27. One less to worry about. nt

[Nitram]

11. The Police.

[intheflow]

45. Right?

Everyone’s always, “We can’t defund them, what will happen when you need them?”

This. This is what happens when you need them. Nashville fucking needed them. They did jack shit, so why are we funding them in the first place when they’re giving us this level of “security.”

[Nitram]

56. Funding should be contingent on a major change in focus, performance, and attitude.

[brush]

12. Everybody knows you can't call a white person a terrorist.

Even if his girlfriend tells the police he's BUILDING FUCKING BOMBS the police only peek over the fence of his yard after not bothering to get a search warrant to see if he's BUILDING FUCKING BOMBS.

Talk about white privilege.

[brush]

18. Yes. The cops should've investigated further, even if they then just called him insane...

or troubled or a militia member instead of a TERRORIST BUILDING FUCKING BOMBS. Ya know, how they usually do if it's a white person.

[kcr]

29. He was just playing with his toys

Having some fun. He was allowed to do that!

[Azathoth]

15. Yep, now it begins

All the bullshit about how no one knew who this guy was and he was just a nice quiet boy on no one's radar.

By next week, we'll find out he'd been posting on conspiracy and militia sites for decades, and was widely known to spout off about bomb making and the deep state and the Bilderbergs and 5G mind control.

[Grokenstein]

33. "Come on, this is Tennessee!"

"Who ISN'T building bombs in their basement and threatening officials? ......LOOK OUT! That black guy's selling loose cigarettes!!" (gunfire)

[ARPad95]

20. The girlfriend was a 62-year-old woman with (at the time) mental health issues so the police

probably disregarded everything she said. As for the lawyer, okay, we'll humor him and take a peek over the fence. Then of course blame him a year later when they did nothing and downtown Nashville gets blown up.

Sounds about right.

[Maru Kitteh]

23. Well all women are crazy and a bunch of liars so . . . .

Just ask some male cops, they'll all they tell ya all about it.

[tosh]

25. Exactly!

[MontanaMama]

32. Yup.

We’re quite dramatic too.

[Marie Marie]

36. And prone to hysteria.

So much for: If you see something, say something. Remember how often that line was repeated after 9/11?

[treestar]

62. Why do we assume that?

Always assuming the worst, merely because they are police. There could have been a lot of reasons she was not credible, or that her statement might not be enough to support a warrant. Hindsight is so perfect.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

24. Protecting and serving. Maybe they need more funds.

[Progressive Jones]

26. Massive showing of police laziness and stupidity. nt

[panfluteman]

30. Seems Like Every Time Something Horrible Like This Happens, the Police Were Tipped Off In Advance.

But - as so many other posters have pointed out here, they failed to respond. Laziness? Stupidity? Who the heck knows?

[dutch777]

35. And we wonder how these things happen?!?!?! Thank god more people weren't hurt, but even so...

...if I was one of those hurt or owner of one of the businesses/properties damaged, I'd be consulting with my lawyer about a lawsuit against the City of Nashville.

[Aussie105]

37. Serve and protect? Not so much this.

No explosive sniffer dogs on that police force?

Too busy looking for 'bad' guys of color I suppose.

But I'm still trying to catch up with WTF is wrong with the police over where you guys live.
Still trying to cope with the Australian woman who rang the police because she thought there was a sexual assault happening in the laneway next to her house.
Went out to talk to the cops, got blown away by the driver's partner who fired at her from across the driver's face.

[moondust]

38. Ask her about 5G.

I have some trouble buying into the 5G theory since he apparently worked as an "information technology specialist" per NYT.

How about "lizard people"?

Nashville Christmas bomber showed interest in 'lizard people' conspiracy theories, sources say

[JI7]

39. Breonna TAylor and George Floyd were killed

[Orrex]

44. I suppose he was insufficiently Brown to merit further investigation.

[greyl]

48. Apparently some misogyny involved, too, eg "crazy girlfriend."

[greyl]

46. K & R nt

[occupant]

52. Nashville nutz

Three injured and millions of dollars of damage done to downtown Nashville because some lazy assed cops didn't want to get involved.Un fucking real! What a bunch of stupid assed cops. I hope the dept gets the shit sued out of them.Yup, a black guy would be dead on the spot.....disgusting.

[herding cats]

53. This makes me so angry on so many levels.

If it weren't a perceived "domestic" issue would it have been dealt with differently? Also, imagine if the person were a Muslim rather than a white man. What did your mind conjure? Yeah, that.

I could go on and on, but they failed at their jobs epically due to their own biases and/or poor training.

[Demovictory9]

54. wow

[TheBlackAdder]

55. Camper-Check, Extensive Video Cameras-Check, Bombs-Maybe, Booby Traps-Definitely, I SEE NOTHING!

.



.

[malaise]

64. Didn't see your thread when I posted mine earlier

[Hassler]

67. But Warner was stale, pale and male. LEOs only act proactively with

Black Americans.