In the midst of last year's national protests, sparked by the shooting deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police, Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson made headlines when his department approached local demonstrators with hot chocolate instead of tear gas. After this calm response received criticism from an outraged citizen, Anderson wrote a open letter that further defended the people's right to protest, a response the Washington Post called "remarkable." After 40 years at the MNPD, he's nearing five years as chief.
What have you learned about law enforcement in 2014?
It's opened my eyes to a lot of people who have distrust in government, in police work, that I didn't know existed as widely as it has.
And a lot of that has to do with our history, as a government and in police work. I think Ferguson, obviously, opened a lot of people's eyes. I think I said when Ferguson occurred, that just didn't happen overnight — there was something below the surface, bubbling, long before that incident. What I've come to realize is that nationwide, there is that distrust, that unrest, that need to bring about change, that's just below the surface. And I think the lesson that myself and other chiefs are talking about at this point is we can't let Ferguson pass us by. We don't want to waste a crisis, so to speak. We want to continue to examine where we need to be in law enforcement, because although you're not seeing much going on across the nation at this point, it just went below the surface again. It's still there.
You're coming up on five years as chief. Do you know how many more years you have in you?
I don't. You know, it's one of those things — they tell me, "You'll know when you're ready." Obviously I'm closer to the end of my career than the start of my career, but it's not something that I've set a time on. As long as I enjoy coming to work, as long as the people here continue to do the teamwork that they do. From my experience here at this police department and from what I can see at other police departments, we have a leadership team here second to none. We have three deputy chiefs that work very well together, work very hard. We have eight commanders that I'm totally satisfied with. So it's very rewarding to come to work. I may just decide [to retire] one day, but it won't be anytime soon.
Tell me about these classic cars I've heard about …
Most of them have been sitting there for years. I have two in the garage. I have a '63 Chevrolet, and I call that my 25-foot car. And I have a '55 Chevrolet, and I call that my 50-foot car. The '63 looks good at 25 feet, the '55 looks good at 50 feet. You get any closer, you start seeing the flaws.
Read even more of this interview on our news blog Pith in the Wind.
More From the 2015 People Issue
The Textile Designer: Andra Eggleston / The Transformer: Bill Schleicher / The Chief: Steve Anderson / The Bookseller: Yusef Harris / The Producer: Dave Cobb / The Rookie: Filip Forsberg / The Pedal Steel-Playing Pilot: Joshua Motohashi / The Weathermen: David Drobny & Will Minkoff / The Punk Neuroscientist: Kale Edmiston / The Kitchen Artist: Karla Ruiz / The Metalhead: Kayla Phillips / The Image Master: kogonada / The Bartender: Lee Parrish / The Professor: Lisa Guenther / The Advocate: Marisa Richmond / The Captains: Kellie Hurst & Regina Durkan / The Painter: Michael Shane Neal / The Tunesmith: Shane McAnally
