Tenn. deputy in viral DUI video once resigned post

Becca Andrews | Gannett

Show Caption Hide Caption Libertarian records DUI checkpoint confrontation with deputy Rutherford County Libertarian Party member Chris Kalbaugh, who is the driver in the video, uploaded this video to YouTube and expressed his concern that his constitutional rights were violated.

Chris Kalbaugh recorded the DUI stop as part of a Libertarian Party campaign

The video shows a verbal altercation between Kalbaugh and sheriff%27s deputy

Deputy had resigned in 2004 amid accusations that he lied about whether he had auto insurance after an accident

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- A Rutherford County Sheriff's deputy at the center of a controversy tied to a videotaped DUI checkpoint stop has in the past drawn the scrutiny of his superiors and once resigned from the office, a review of disciplinary records shows.

Deputy A.J. Ross was featured in a July 4 video posted by the Libertarian Party that depicted a verbal altercation between Ross and 21-year-old Chris Kalbaugh. The Middle Tennessee State University junior accuses Ross of violating his constitutional rights during a checkpoint stop.

The video of Rutherford County deputies stopping Kalbaugh at a DUI checkpoint, then asking him to pull over and searching his car after he wouldn't roll the window all the way down, was nearing 2 million hits on YouTube earlier this week.

Libertarians nationwide have been recording interactions with police in a campaign to demonstrate what they call violations of constitutional rights.

Kalbaugh's video camera was recording from the passenger seat, aimed toward the driver's side window.

In the video, Ross asks Kalbaugh to roll down his window farther, and Kalbaugh refuses, saying it's fine where it is. When Kalbaugh continues to challenge Ross' demands, Ross orders him to pull his car over and step out. Later, a drug dog searches the outside of car, then inside.

Kalbaugh was allowed to leave and received no citations.

"I broke no laws, and I made sure to be respectful the entire time while still exercising my constitutional freedom," Kalbaugh said.

Sheriff Robert Arnold's office has refused to comment on the video, other than to say Ross' actions are "currently under investigation."

But sheriff's office records show that Arnold rehired Ross in November 2010, six years after the deputy resigned amid accusations that he lied about whether he had auto insurance after an accident.

According to the incident report, Ross told the Murfreesboro police officer on the scene of the September 2003 accident that "he did not have his insurance card with him nor inside the vehicle he was occupying."

"Mr. Ross, however, was very assuring that the pickup he was in was insured," the report states.

What you can, cannot do at a DUI checkpoint stop What you can, cannot do at a DUI checkpoint stop.

Ross identified himself as a member of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office and was not issued a citation, according to the report.

The other man involved in the accident, after discovering the deputy's vehicle was uninsured, called authorities and demanded to know why Ross was not given a citation, the report said.

The sheriff's office on June 22, 2004, recommended termination. Ross resigned June 23.

In the letter to then-Sheriff Truman Jones, Ross said he hoped they would be able to talk in the future. Jones hired Ross in 2002.

The office also suspended Ross for three 10-hour shifts for failing to appear in general sessions court in August 2003 for a DUI citation he issued, the disciplinary records show.

Attempts since Friday to reach Ross for comment have been unsuccessful.

During the DUI stop, Kalbaugh claimed the drug dog's handler prompted it to give false alerts on the outside of the car to justify looking inside, although it's tough to tell from the video.

"I looked at the video later on when I got home, and I noticed that every time the officer said, 'check here,' the dog scratched my car," Kalbaugh said.

The video, uploaded Friday morning to libertarianrepublic.com, skyrocketed to the top of Reddit's homepage, a site where popular content is voted "up" by users.

"We've gotten worldwide response for this," said Axl David, communications director for the Libertarian Party of Tennessee. "I watched the video when he uploaded it, and my blood boiled. I think that's why it went viral."

David said the organization is not anti-police, and the demonstration was aimed to send the message that "any abuse of the constitution will be exposed," David said.