Questions about how the Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE conducted a litany of traffic stops and immigration arrests in Nashville last year lingered Thursday as THP leaders offered little information on accountability and Gov. Bill Lee says he was unaware of the details reported and shared with his office by the Banner last week.
A morning full of scrutiny of the operation started at a THP trooper graduation where Lee held a media availability, his first since the Banner and other media partners published a months-long investigation into the operation. During the May sting, troopers and ICE agents used a mix of pejoratives to describe suspected immigrants, and agents physically marked arrestees as teams of law enforcement competed to make the most arrests.
Lee seemed confused when asked about trooper conduct and said he did not know about the disparaging language or the markings, despite the Banner having sent the report and a list of related questions to his office a week ago and following up on Wednesday…