Tennessee State Trooper Accused of Ripping Mask Off Man's Face

A Tennessee state trooper is being accused of ripping a face mask off a man recording a traffic stop at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville on August 10.

Andrew Golden recorded this video and originally posted it to Facebook.

In the original post, Golden said he was recording the traffic stop from a safe distance, on a public sidewalk, when the mask-less trooper, who was not involved in the traffic stop, began to yell at him.

“I responded colorfully that I was on a sidewalk and that I am filming,” Golden said.

Golden said the trooper took issue with his saying “f***ing sidewalk” and told him, “Go ahead and use that language again, young man.”

Golden said, “When I asked him what he was threatening me with, he approached me and said that I will be arrested if I impede the traffic stop.”

As the trooper gets close to Golden, a name tag identifying him as Trooper Harvey Briggs can be seen. Briggs gets within inches of Golden’s face with no mask.

“Then he rips my mask off my face and walks away,” Golden said.

Golden said he was “dumbfounded.” He can be heard asking the other troopers if they were going to do anything, and says to Briggs, “You just ripped a mask off my face.”

Briggs can be heard responding, “No I did not” and "I’m tired of you people making stuff up.”

Golden told Storyful he inquired with the other troopers if there was a lieutenant or sergeant on duty he could speak to about the incident, but was ignored.

A spokesperson from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security told Storyful they “received information involving Trooper Harvey Briggs at the capitol” and “are in the process of reviewing the matter.” Credit: Andrew Golden via Storyful