Blue Lights, Black Label, Red Handed: Nashville Police Officer Charged With Stealing DUI Suspect's Jack Daniel's

NASHVILLE, TN — A Metro Nashville police officer has been decommissioned and charged with theft, accused of stealing a bottle of Jack Daniel's from the car of a man he arrested for drunken driving.

Officer Joshua Vaughn, 29, responded to a car wreck at 38th Avenue and Charlotte Pike at 10:55 p.m. Friday. The driver, charged with DUI, was taken to a local hospital for treatment and Vaughn, who joined MNPD in 2013, was to conduct an inventory of the wrecked 2013 Lexus. A few minutes later, according to investigator, a second officer, Robert Buckman arrived. Buckman later told his sergeant that he saw "a large bulge" under Vaughn's vest when he walked from the Lexus back to his cruiser.

When Vaughn returned to the West Precinct at 11:42 p.m., two sergeants walked by Vaughn's personal vehicle and "saw in plain view an apparently full large bottle of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey in the rear cargo area." They then checked with the presumably sobering-up driver of the Lexus at the hospital, who told them there had indeed been a bottle of Jack Daniel's in the vehicle.

The departmental disciplinary process will begin when the investigation is finalized. Vaughn will face the theft charge in court in March. For more local news that affects you, find and subscribe to your local Middle Tennessee Patch.

Image via Metro Nashville Police