How the Council voted on a matter that undermined the Legal department and will politicize lawsuits against the city.

by Rod Williams - On October 15, the Council considered and passed a resolution "urging" the Metropolitan Department of Law to compromise and settle the claim of Shaundelle Brooks, as next of kin of Akilah DaSilva, against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and requesting that the Metro Legal Department resolve this action expediently."

This was an important vote and sits a bad precedent. Normally when a person sues the city, the legal department negotiates with the other party and if legal determines it is best to settle, they bring a resolution to the Council asking the Council to approve the settlement. That is not what this is. This bill "urged" legal to settle the lawsuit. In this case, the legal department has not yet reached a settlement with the plaintiffs. They are still in the discovery stages. That is a big difference. The resolution contains language that could be construed as an admission of guilt on the part of Metro government. The language of the resolution could help the family in a separate lawsuit they have against Vanderbilt Medical Center.

From time to time the Council does pass memorializing resolutions expressing their opinion on a matter.  When the Council is "urging" the Congress or an agency of the federal government to do something, it is somewhat meaningless.  Also, it is somewhat meaningless when the Metro Council opines on a state issue. When the Council opines on a local issue or urges a agency of the Metro government to do something, that is more like a directive to do so, since the Council has the power do something about it if the agency does not honor the Council's wishes.

Akilah DaSilva was shot in the shoulder during the Antioch Waffle House shooting of April 2018. 911 dispatchers sent emergency responders to the Waffle House in Hermitage, nearly 10 miles away. The family claims the delay caused a massive blood loss that resulted in DaSilva’s death. However, that fact is in dispute because there were at least two other ambulances dispatched to the correct address so this mistake apparently did not cause the death of DaSilva. 

 When this was before the Council, Councilman Russ Pulley did an admirable job explaining why passing this was inadvisable. Also, Glover and Hager drove home the point that passing this resolution could harm the interest of the city. Council member Vercher spoke at length in favor of the resolution. The minority caucus supported it. To view the Council discussion see timestamp 1:30:33- 2:29:45 in the video at this link.

With this resolution passing, it is likely that everyone with a lawsuit against the city will lobby the Council for a favorable settlement and lawsuits will become political matters rather than legal matters. A responsible vote was a "no" vote on this matter.

Here is how members voted:

Yes (25): Mendes, Hurt, Allen, Suara, Hall, Toombs, Gamble, Parker, Withers, Benedict, VanReece, Evans, Welsch, Sledge, Cash, O'Connell, Taylor, Hausser, Vercher, Porterfield, Sepulveda, Rutherford, Styles, Lee, and Rosenberg;  

No (13): Glover, Hancock, Young, Hagar, Bradford, Rhoten, Syracuse, Roberts, Druffel, Murphy, Pulley, Johnston, and Nash;  

Abstain (1): Henderson.

Below is the text of the resolution:

Resolution RS2019-30

A resolution urging the Metropolitan Department of Law to compromise and settle the claim of Shaundelle Brooks, as next of kin of Akilah DaSilva, against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County; requesting that the Metro Legal Department resolve this action expediently; and requesting that the Emergency Communications Center adopt a policy for 911 call takers regarding GPS coordinates.

WHEREAS, on April 22, 2018, Akilah DaSilva was shot in the shoulder at the Antioch Waffle House located at 3571 Murfreesboro Pike; and

WHEREAS, 911 call takers incorrectly dispatched the emergency response to the Hermitage Waffle House at 816 Murfreesboro Pike instead, which was located approximately ten miles away and in a different police precinct, thereby delaying the emergency response; and

WHEREAS, GPS coordinates for multiple callers were available to dispatchers, but they failed to use available equipment to verify caller locations before dispatching the emergency response; and

WHEREAS, Akilah DaSilva died from blood loss after arriving at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shortly thereafter; and

WHEREAS, the compromise and settlement of this action is in the best interests of the Metropolitan Government, and any and all claims or causes of action brought, or that could have been brought, by Shaundelle Brooks, as next of kin of Akilah DaSilva, against the Metropolitan Government related to the events detailed above, should be compromised and settled expediently.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1: The Metropolitan Department of Law is hereby urged to compromise and settle the claim of Shaundelle Brooks, as next of kin of Akilah DaSilva, against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, and to resolve this matter expediently.

Section 2: The Metropolitan Council further goes on record as requesting that the Emergency Communications Center adopt a policy that prevents 911 call takers from disregarding available GPS coordinates when responding to emergency calls.

Section 3: This resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsor(s): Tanaka Vercher

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