Stacey Barchenger

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Nashville police say based on the information they have now, they will not charge the driver of an SUV who was involved in an incident at an immigration rally on Sunday.

People crowded the corner of West End Avenue and Murphy Road on Sunday afternoon, protesting President Donald Trump's controversial actions on immigration. As the protest was disbanding, police officers interviewed the driver of a black SUV after he drove for a distance with protesters on the hood of his vehicle.

The driver and protesters gave police different accounts of what happened.

The driver told police no one was in the road as he was turning, until a group of protesters surrounded his car and began beating on the windows, a police narrative of the incident reads. The driver, whom police did not identify, was afraid and tried to get away when protesters jumped on the hood of his SUV, the narrative says.

Protesters told police there were people in the road at the time the SUV drove up, and the SUV "continued to drive through the crowd without slowing down," the narrative says. Those witnesses said more protesters ran out to try and stop the SUV, and several people jumped on the hood after the SUV continued moving, the report states.

One man, Jack Willey, told The Tennessean on Sunday the SUV inched forward until it hit three pedestrians, including himself. Willey was a member of the protest's safety team. He said he was helping people cross the street with the right of way in a crosswalk when he was hit. On Tuesday he questioned the police investigation, specifically for not interviewing more witnesses.

"And it is clearly not a full investigation because there were dozens of witnesses," he said.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said a police sergeant interviewed Willey. And Willey said he's been playing phone tag with a detective since Sunday.

At this point in the investigation, there is not probable cause to warrant the arrest of the 68-year-old driver, Aaron said.

"There is no belief whatsoever that they (the driver and a passenger in his car) had any intention to cause a disruption or harm anyone," he said. "By their statements, they were frightened by persons banging on their vehicle and jumping onto it."

Here's the full narrative of the incident, written and released by the Metro Nashville Police Department:

"On 01/29/2017 officers responded to a protest located at 3322 West End Ave. When officers arrived on scene they observed a large group of people protesting peacefully recent political decisions made by the U.S. Government. At approximately (4:25 p.m.) the victim was traveling westbound on West End Ave and making a right hand turn onto Murphy Ave. The victim stated he made sure no one was in the roadway and continued to turn until a group of protestors surrounded his car and began beating on the windows of his vehicle with their fists. The victim stated he became in fear for his safety and continued to drive to get away from the group of protesters. The victim advised as he began to move his vehicle forward approximately six protesters jumped on the hood of his vehicle and he continued to drive until he was able to get off of the roadway next to the Exxon Station at 3400 West End Ave. Officers responded to the scene and were able to keep the crowd under control and gather what information they could. "Officers stationed at the corner of West End Ave and Murphy Ave reported they did not see the incident occurring until the group of protesters jumped on the hood of the vehicle. While officers were gathering information from the crowd gathered at the 3400 West End Ave the crowd was becoming aggressive towards the victim stating 'if he was black he would be on the ground by now.' And 'pull him out of the car and rough him up.' Officers asked the victim to sit in the back of a police car and was relocated away from the incident for his safety. "Officers spoke with witnesses who came forward to speak with officers from the crowd of protestors and both stated the victim had come through the intersection of West End Ave and Murphy Ave and was turning right onto Murphy Ave. Both witnesses stated there were people standing in the roadway before the victim's vehicle entered the intersection and the victim continued to drive through the crowd without slowing down. The witnesses stated a group of protestors ran out into the roadway in an attempt to stop the vehicle and surrounded his car. The witnesses advised several people jumped on the hood of the vehicle only after the driver continued to drive through the crowd in an attempt to get away. "After officers were able to relocate the victim they were able to speak with a witness who was also inside the vehicle with the victim and she stated her husband (victim) had made a right hand turn onto Murphy Ave from West End Ave and after making sure the lane was clear slowly moved forward until his vehicle was surrounded by protestors who began pounding on the windows of their vehicle with their fists. Stated she was also in fear of being assaulted and her husband continued to drive through the crowd to get away from the aggressive crowd surrounding the vehicle. Protestors then jumped on the hood of their vehicle and the witness stated her husband drove to 3400 West End Ave because they saw police vehicles parked in the area."

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968, sbarchenger@tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger.