Photo by Eric Goodwin / Assistant News Editor
A traffic stop initiated by a Murfreesboro Police officer on Wednesday ended in a physical altercation between the suspect and officer at Campus Villa Apartments.
According to the police report, the officer stopped Joseph Nolen, 29, who was driving out of the MT Supermarket in a gold Chevrolet Malibu after the officer noticed Nolen’s windows were tinted.
Tennessee law maintains that, excluding special cases, it is against the law to operate a motor vehicle having windows with “a visible light transmittance of less than 35 percent.” In addition, officers may lawfully detain a vehicle whose windows they believe to be in violation of the law for the purpose of a field comparison test, and it is a Class C misdemeanor if the driver refuses the test.
Nolen pulled aside at the Campus Villa Apartments complex where the officer discovered Nolen was carrying bags of marijuana and cocaine. Nolen began to walk away from the vehicle as the officer discovered a semi-automatic handgun in a floorboard of the vehicle.
Nolen then began to flee on foot. The officer then grabbed Nolen, and a physical altercation ensued. At one point, Nolen bit the officer. The officer eventually pinned Nolen down as backup arrived. A Murfreesboro Police Sergeant helped the officer place Nolen in custody, and the officer called Rutherford County EMS to check on Nolen, who had asthma.
Murfreesboro Police charged Nolen with felony possession of a firearm, felony possession of a class II narcotic, assault/resisting arrest and simple possession of a schedule VI narcotic.
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