From Left to Right: Melvin Brown III and Mike Clark
From Left to Right: Milton Elrod and Donald Long
From Left to Right: Thomas Rollins and Daniel WalzNASHVILLE, Tenn. – Six Metro Nashville Police officers were suspended for driving Taylor Swift's security team after being denied permission to perform the outside work.
Officers Melvin Brown III, Mike Clark, Milton Elrod, Thomas Rollins and Sgt. Donald Long were suspended for 10 days, and Sgt. Daniel Walz was suspended for 12 days.
The suspensions were first reported in The Tennessean.
The officers sought approval for the driving job, but their request was rejected, according to the department's internal investigation, which was completed in May.
Elrod, who recently retired from the department, said in an interview that they continued doing the job anyway, hoping supervisors wouldn't find out.
He said they needed the $30 an hour the work provided.
The company that hired the officers to help with Swift's security, Firefly Entertainment, was unaware of the approval problems, according to spokeswoman Paula Erickson.
"As soon as Firefly was made aware that there was a problem, they stopped using these officers immediately," she told The Tennessean.
*The Associated Press and The Tennessean contributed to this report.
