Policing Policy Commission's Report Sketches 'a Nashville Model of Policing'

Mayor John Cooper's Policing Policy Commission released its final report Monday, sketching out what it describes as "a Nashville model of policing" ahead of the hiring of the city's next police chief. 

Cooper created the commission in August in response to a nationwide protest movement against racism and police brutality that followed the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Nashville has its own names — Jocques Clemmons and Daniel Hambrick among them — of Black men whose deaths at the hands of police have sparked local protests and demands for change.

The 42-member commission was chaired by former Mayor Karl Dean and former Tennessean editor and columnist Dwight Lewis. 

The commission's report identifies four goals for the Metro Nashville Police Department. In short: increased collaboration with community groups and other government agencies; increased gender and racial diversity at every level of the department; efforts to eliminate disparities in use of force and increased transparency about the uses of force; and training that emphasizes "consistent and respectful" interactions with all Nashvillians. 

The 41-page report details a number of issues and proposed solutions that all fall within those broad categories. It discusses police use of force extensively. 

"MNPD use of force has declined sharply over time, from over 750 uses of force in the early 2000s to 299 uses of force in 2019," the report reads in an introductory section. "According to an analysis conducted by the MNPD, police in Nashville use force at a much lower rate than comparable police departments in peer cities. Despite the declining use of force, MNPD administrative data shows persistent disparities in the application of force on Black Nashvillians. In three categories of use of force — canine, taser and takedown/grapple — Black Nashvillians are recipients of disproportionate application of force. Use of force in those categories is in fact rising."

Citing MNPD's own data, the report says that 61 percent of the MNPD’s 299 use-of-force incidents in 2019 involved African American residents. Among the commission's recommendations for addressing this disparity are requiring that de-escalation tactics be utilized before an officer uses force and establishing that failing to do so will result in disciplinary action. The report also highlights the fact that Nashville currently fulfills only four of the eight requirements included in the popular #8cantwait framework for reducing police use of force. The commission recommends updating MNPD policies related de-escalation, the duty to intervene, banning shooting at moving vehicles and requiring comprehensive reporting on use-of-force incidents. It also recommends the explicit banning of no-knock warrants. 

One idea forced into the mainstream by the summer protest movement was that of embracing alternatives to policing in a variety of situations where the presence of an armed officer may very well make a situation worse. In its report, the commission recommends that MNPD "develop partnerships with community-based nonprofits to support the delivery of social services that enhance safety and promote conflict resolution" and that the department "establish a co-response model to mental health crises for Nashville by creating a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) unit in the MNPD and selecting officers interested in serving in the unit; ensure that mental health professionals serve as co-responders and, where possible, lead interventionists." 

Additionally, referencing the allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and assault inside MNPD, the commission recommended the department make a series of changes regarding how it handles such complaints, including referring all sexual assault investigations to an outside agency in consultation with the district attorney’s office.

The report aims to serve as day-one agenda for a new police chief. The mayor announced five finalists for the job last month and is expected to make a selection before the end of the year.