Five months ago, Governor Bill Lee signed SB 2278 into law. The bill, known as Dallas’s Law, creates training and registration requirements that didn’t exist before for thousands of unarmed security guards across Tennessee. On January 1, 2023, those requirements take effect. And based on conversations with security company owners in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville over the past two weeks, a lot of people aren’t ready.
The law is named after Dallas “DJ” Barrett, a 22-year-old who died in August 2021 after an altercation with security guards at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Lower Broadway in Nashville. Barrett was restrained by multiple guards on the venue’s rooftop bar. He stopped breathing. Six security guards and one patron now face criminal charges in his death.
The investigation that followed Barrett’s killing revealed something that shocked even people inside the industry: the guards who restrained Barrett had received almost no formal training. Under Tennessee’s old rules, unarmed security guards employed by a proprietary security organization (a business that hired its own guards rather than contracting with a licensed security company) faced zero mandatory training hours. None. A bar or nightclub could hire someone off the street, hand them a shirt that said “Security,” and put them to work that same night.
Dallas’s Law closes that gap. Here’s what it actually requires, what it costs, and what Memphis security operations need to do in the next 45 days.
What the Law Requires
Dallas’s Law applies specifically to security guards who work at establishments licensed to serve alcohol for on-premises consumption. That means bars, nightclubs, restaurants with liquor licenses, concert venues, and event spaces. In Memphis alone, the Shelby County Beer Board and the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission list hundreds of active permits.
The law creates three main requirements:
First, a 16-hour training program. Every unarmed security guard working at an alcohol-serving venue must complete 16 hours of approved training. The curriculum covers de-escalation techniques, crowd management, legal boundaries of force, and emergency response. Guards who already hold an armed security license through TDCI’s Private Protective Services division are exempt, since their existing training exceeds 16 hours.
Second, biennial refresher training. Guards must complete refresher courses every two years to stay in compliance. TDCI hasn’t published the exact refresher curriculum yet, and that’s one of the details still being worked out before the January deadline.
Third, proprietary security organization registration. This is the piece that catches a lot of business owners off guard. Under the old system, a bar or restaurant that employed its own security staff didn’t need to register with TDCI at all. Dallas’s Law changes that. Now, any business that employs its own security guards , rather than contracting through a licensed security company, must register as a proprietary security organization with the state. That registration comes with recordkeeping requirements and oversight.
The Training Gap Is Real
I talked to Reggie Odom, who runs a 40-person contract security operation based on Poplar Avenue. He’s been licensed through TDCI for 12 years. His guards already complete training that exceeds the new minimums.
“For us, not much changes,” he told me. “We were already doing 24 hours of initial training plus quarterly refreshers. The law catches us up to where the good companies already were.”
The problem isn’t the established contract security firms. It’s the hundreds of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs across Tennessee that employ their own door staff. Those businesses have never had to think about formal training programs. Now they’ve got less than two months to figure it out.
Marcus Webb manages three restaurants on Beale Street. Two of them hold liquor licenses and employ a combined eight security staff on weekend nights. He’s been scrambling since September.
“I didn’t even know about this law until my attorney mentioned it,” Webb said. “We’re trying to find approved training providers, and the wait lists are already backed up. I’ve got guys who have been doing this for five years and now need to sit through 16 hours of class before January.”
Finding Approved Training Providers
TDCI is certifying trainers to deliver the Dallas’s Law curriculum. The training can be provided by a trainer certified through Tennessee’s Detection Services Licensing Program or by a qualified training provider approved by TDCI. Some of these programs are available online, which helps with scheduling, though many include in-person components for hands-on de-escalation exercises.
In Memphis, several organizations are gearing up to offer the training. CPR Choice in Knoxville already lists a Dallas’s Law certification course. Alliance Training and Testing has launched an online option. Local community colleges in Shelby County are exploring whether to add the curriculum to their spring schedules.
The cost varies. Online-only courses run between $75 and $150 per person. Programs with in-person components can cost $200 to $350. For a bar that employs six door staff, that’s somewhere between $450 and $2,100 in training costs alone, not counting the hours those employees spend away from work.
What Memphis Companies Need to Do Now
If you run a bar, restaurant, nightclub, or event venue in Memphis with a liquor license and you employ your own security staff, here’s the checklist:
Before December 15: Identify every employee who performs security functions. This includes door staff, bouncers, floor security, and anyone whose job involves monitoring patron behavior or handling disturbances. Job titles don’t matter. Function does.
Before December 31: Enroll all identified security employees in a TDCI-approved 16-hour training program. If you can’t get everyone through training by January 1, talk to your attorney about your exposure. TDCI hasn’t detailed its enforcement timeline yet, and there may be some grace period for businesses that can show they’ve enrolled employees in upcoming sessions.
Before January 1, 2023: Register as a proprietary security organization with TDCI if you employ your own security guards. The registration process requires paperwork and fees. Don’t wait until the last week of December to start this.
Ongoing: Set up a tracking system for refresher training. Every guard needs to recertify every two years. If you’ve got turnover (and most Memphis bars do) you need a process that catches new hires before they start working the door.
The Staffing Squeeze
Memphis already has a security staffing problem. Contract security companies across Shelby County have reported difficulty filling positions for the past two years. Starting wages for unarmed guards hover between $12 and $15 an hour in the Memphis market, and competition from warehouse jobs along the I-40 corridor and logistics positions at the FedEx Hub makes recruiting harder.
Dallas’s Law adds a new wrinkle. Guards who might have started working immediately now need 16 hours of training first. That’s two full days, possibly more if training sessions aren’t available right away. For venues that rely on picking up extra door staff before busy weekends, the old approach of hiring someone on Thursday for a Friday night shift is gone.
Some operators are already looking at the math differently. Contracting with a licensed security company costs more per hour, typically $18 to $28 in the Memphis market depending on the assignment. The advantage is that the security company handles training, compliance, and TDCI registration. For a Beale Street bar owner who doesn’t want to become a de facto security training administrator, outsourcing might start looking cheaper than it used to.
Why This Matters Beyond Compliance
Dallas Barrett was 22 years old. He went to a bar on a Saturday night in Nashville. He got into a confrontation with security staff. The details of what happened on that rooftop are still being litigated. What isn’t disputed is that the guards who held him down had minimal training in how to restrain someone without killing them.
The law named after Barrett won’t prevent every bad outcome. Training doesn’t guarantee good judgment. Sixteen hours is a starting point, not an endpoint. Security professionals I’ve spoken with in Memphis generally support the law’s intent while questioning whether the training hours are sufficient.
“Sixteen hours is better than zero,” said one operations manager at a Cordova-based security firm who asked not to be named. “I’d like to see 40. I’d like to see ongoing supervision requirements. This is a first step.”
There’s also a broader conversation about what Tennessee expects from its security industry. The state has roughly 847 licensed security companies and thousands of individual registrants. Before Dallas’s Law, a significant portion of people performing security work fell outside any regulatory framework. The new proprietary security organization registration requirement starts to bring those workers into the system.
The Clock Is Ticking
January 1 is 45 days away. If you’re a Memphis venue operator who hasn’t started the compliance process, today’s the day to pick up the phone. Call TDCI’s Private Protective Services division at (615) 741-4827 for registration questions. Search their website for approved training providers. Talk to your insurance carrier, since liability coverage may require proof of training compliance.
For contract security companies that already meet or exceed the new standards, Dallas’s Law is a chance to differentiate. If you can tell a potential client “Our guards already exceed Dallas’s Law requirements, and we handle all TDCI reporting,” that’s a strong pitch to every bar and restaurant owner in Shelby County who’s just now realizing what compliance looks like.
Dallas Barrett’s family pushed for this law because a 22-year-old shouldn’t die on a rooftop in Nashville. The security industry’s job now is to make sure the training requirements named after him actually mean something. That starts with taking the next 45 days seriously.