Nashville LGBTQ leaders are seeking Davidson County District Attorney to indict a man who attacked a transgender woman in the lobby of the Nashville Business. (Photo: Getty Images (

The video for this story has been updated to reflect Jeremiah Hendrix’s correct former employer.

The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office is facing surveillance that a man attacked a transgender woman in the head in May in the Nashville business and was not sued.

Surveillance footage from the Charlotte Pike Extra Space Storage office shows 35-year-old Jeremiah Hendrix approaching 27-year-old Tyler Flanagan on May 30th and taking her sunglasses off her face.

In a statement issued June 9, the Metronashville Police Department wrote that “After discussing with the District Attorney’s Office, the MNPD has not filed any charges.”

The Metronashville Council’s LGBTQ Caucus is currently asking district attorneys to complete a “more thorough analysis” of the case, including whether it falls under Tennessee’s hate crimes law.

MNPD spokesman Don Aaron said the footage was reviewed by the specialist research department in the department considering hate crimes.

According to LGBTQ Caucus, district attorney Glenn Funk will review the case early next week when he returns from his vacation. In the meantime, the Caucus said the MNPD “must recall and redefine the press release to reflect the new review and intended action of the DA.”

Police statements – details of which Flanagan and her lawyer dispute – provide a brief explanation of the argument and notes that both parties can choose to personally prosecute the case.

Police say Flanagan and his friends reported that Hendrix and his colleagues, who are running employee Hendrix, used transphobic and homophobic slur towards them before the physical attack.

Hendrix accused Black and his colleagues of using “racially insulting words” of Flanagan and her friends. Hendrix also said Flanagan threw a milkshake at him. Surveillance footage shows Flanagan throwing something from the car, but it is not clear whether Hendrix, a few feet behind the car, hit the cup.

Attempts to contact Hendrick for comments failed.

Civil rights attorney Abby Rubenfeld, known for filing lawsuits that led to Tennessee’s role in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalizes same-sex marriage in the United States, represents Flanagan. Reubenfeld said that Flanagan and her friends used the racial name for Hendrix was “false and unsupported.” She also said that police explanations for Hendrix, who hits Flanagan with “open hand” were wrong.

“The unsupported allegations that the drinks and liquids being thrown will spill on an individual are not comparable to a physical attack, it is a brutal punch to the head of an unsuspecting, vulnerable person, what happened here and is recorded on video,” Rubenfeld said.

The LGBTQ Caucus also expressed concern about the “impression that throwing a milkshake at someone is equivalent to a physical attack.”

How the process works

The district attorney said that “(a) you have the obligation to consider the case to see if you can get a conviction” but to determine that it is the best use of the office’s scarce resources, Nashville Criminal Defence Counsel David Rayvin is generally talking about the criminal justice system as an attorney.

“All criminal cases come in the name of the state…and the district attorney is the one who brings the charges under the law,” Rayvin said. “The DA may want to file a charge, but the DA has the discretion to claim someone.”

Davidson County is one of many cases to avoid overwhelming the court in cases that may lack sufficient evidence or have legitimate defenses that could affect the likelihood of a conviction. The parties to the assault case may also choose to file a civil lawsuit.

Aaron said neither Flanagan nor Hendrix had filed independent charges.

Reubenfeld said Flanagan was “waiting for the DA to charge a fee when there is an obvious, documented, unprovoked attack shot on video.”

In an Instagram post, Flanagan said the attack was “deliberate and from hatred.”

“My first time in Nashville was at that moment I felt scared my safety.

The Black Tie move fired Hendrix after reviewing the incident. It explained in a statement that it was “deeply troublesome and completely unacceptable.”