Ginny Welsch is lone Council member to oppose terrorist fighting tools for the Metro Police Department

by Rod Williams, Dec. 28, 2023- At the most recent Metro Council meeting, the Council approved the acceptance of a Homeland Security Grant of $740,450 that will provide the city with new equipment for the Office of Emergency Management and the Metro Police Department. The grant also included training in use of the equipment. The purpose of the grant was to "fund efforts to prevent, prepare for, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events."

Among the equipment funded are atmospheric monitors, handheld spectrometers, pneumatic tools, portable radios and a Boston Dynamics Spot Robot. Usually accepting a grant from the Federal or State government is not controversial. Metro accepts grants almost every meeting. 

The part of this grant that was controversial was "Spot."  The robotic dog has specialized sensors that can detect possible chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats from a safe distance and is capable of investigating suspicious packages and suspected explosives. 

I am pleased to see Metro get this equipment including Spot.  We live in a dangerous world. It has been 21 years since 9-11. I am not going to surprised when we are next hit with a terrorist attack.  With our national borders unsecured and about 2 million unknown people walking into our country every year, I do not expect the next big attack to be airplanes flying into buildings but an attack on a well-attended public gathering by people who walked across the border. Events like Nashville's New Year's Eve bash would make prime targets. 

We do not only have a threat of international terrorism aiming at big targets to be concerned about, but we have the growing threat of home-grown antisemitic terrorist that are making threats against synagogues as well as a growing danger from right-wing anti-government groups. If a mysterious package is found planted in a local synagogue, I would much prefer being able to send in a robotic dog to investigate than a police officer.

Durning the debate on the resolution, Council Member Jordan Huffman explained the importance of the robotic dog for the MNPD’s hazardous device unit: "This will be utilized by the hazardous device unit by MNPD. I stated before that there have been over 300 [individual] bomb threats this year. If one of those is actually a bomb, then what we’re doing here tonight is worth it."

Huffman went on to explain the use for the atmospheric monitors, which he said will be placed in and around large crowds during events in Nashville to detect any harmful substances like anthrax that could potentially be thrown into the air.

Approval of this grant seems like a no-brainer to me. Why the opposition? Opponents apparently fear the robotic dog will be used to attack people and to spy on people. Watch the above video to see the debate. 

Ginny Welsch
cast lone vote against 
bomb-sniffing robot

District 22 Council Member Sheri Winer made a passionate plea for passing the resolution referencing the bomb threat that was made to Congregation Micah synagogue the weekend prior to the council meeting.

“My grandson and I are Jewish, as many of you in the room are,” said Weiner.  “I got a phone call as I’m walking out the door to take [him] to Sunday school, and my son-in-law with a quivering voice says to me, ‘Don’t take him, they’ve closed Sunday school.’ There was a bomb threat.”

Despite the resolution being thoroughly discussed and approved in committee, a move was made to defer action on the resolution. The move to defer failed by a vote of 15 in favor and 24 against. After more discussion the measure passed overwhelmingly with only one "no" vote and four abstentions.  District 12 Council Member Ginny Welsch was the only "no" vote. 

That Ginny Welsch would vote no is no surprise. While we have a lot of left-leaning progressives serving in the Metro Council, thankfully there is only one Ginny Welsch. While the Council is liberal, it is not totally nuts.  Ginny Welsch is by far the most radical member of the Metro Council. She has a consistent history of attempting to defund the police and votes against the police at every opportunity. There is no vote that she could cast that would surprise me. In 2020 she sponsored a budget amendment that would have slashed the funding for the Police by 40%.  Thankfully, she is one of a kind and no one is following her lead. She did not speak during the debate on the bill. 

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Please tell your councilman to oppose "policing for profit" and to support innocent until proven guilty and due process.

by Rod Williams, Nov. 20, 2018 - Most Americans, whether they think of themselves as liberal or conservative, agree on certain basic concepts of government. Most people believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty and believe in due process. Most people do not want the police to be able to confiscate their property if they have not been convicted of a crime. On Tuesday November 20th, the Council will have on its agenda a resolution to approve Metro's participation in a program that violates these basic concepts.

Sometimes called "Policing for Profit," the program the Council will be voting on is to participate in the “Equitable Sharing Program” of  the  civil asset  forfeiture program. The legislation is Resolution RS2018-1486  which formalizes  an agreement between the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD). This agreement would govern the participation of DEA Nashville District Office Task Force participants in the DOJ “Equitable Sharing Program” and formalize MNPD's participation in the program.  What this program does is allow Metro to become a partner with the State and Federal government in the civil asset forfeiture program.


What civil asset forfeiture does is allow the police to confiscate the cash one is carrying and one's vehicle and possession one may have in his vehicle without being proven guilty of a crime. The person whose property is confiscated may not even be charged with a crime. Often it will come about that the police stop a car for a traffic violation and the owner gives the police permission to search the car or the police search the vehicle under probable cause. Upon searching the vehicle, the police discover the driver has $5,000 in cash, for example.  They can confiscate the money and the vehicle.  It may be that the person was on his way to Florida to buy cocaine, but he may have been on his way to Florida to rent a truck and buy a truck load of landscape plants for a work project.  In any case, the person who had his property confiscated, in order to get it back must go to court and prove he was not in procession of the cash and the vehicle to commit a crime.  This can be a lengthy and expensive process. Often people do not have the means to wage the legal battle and just lose their property.

I know this is unbelievable. You may have thought that in America you were innocent until proven guilty. That is not the case. Under The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 the procedure as described is perfectly legal. Many poor people who may be carrying cash, with their cash gone, can't afford to hire a lawyer to fight to get their money and car returned and are forced to just accept the injustice and the loss.  It they can fight to get their property returned it may take months or even years to prevail.

Civil Asset Forfeiture is an outrage. It is opposed by liberal groups like the ACLU and conservative groups like The Institute for Justice and The Beacon Center, yet it prevails. The police often use this money to supplement their budget and the practice is sometimes referred to as "policing for profit."  The Council should vote against this resolution and refuse to participate in this shameful practice.

This is the second time this issue has been before the Metro Council. This agreement has to be renewed every year.  It was before the Council last year and by a vote of 16 to 15 with four abstentions the Council approved participation in the program. Councilman Dave Rosenberg spoke against the resolution and argued Metro should not participate in this program.  To view that discussion see timestamp 2:35:10 in the video at this link. 

Below is the result of the roll call vote when the issue was before the Council at that time.

Voting YES to approve Resolution RS2017-920. Voting in favor of Civil Forfeiture

Nick Leonardo, District 1                 Brenda Haywood, District 3         Bill Pridemore, District 9
Doug Pardue, District 10                  Larry Hagar, District 11                Steve Glover, District  12
Holly Huezo, District 13                  Jeff Syracuse, District 15              Mike Freeman, District 16
Mary Carolyn Roberts, District 20   Russ Pulley, District 25                Tanaka Vercher, District 28
Karen Johnson, District  29              Jason Potts, District  30                Jacobia Dowell, District 32
Antionette Lee, District  22

Voting NO, a vote against Resolution RS2017-920. Voting against Civil Forfeiture
 
John Cooper, At-large                     Jim Shulman, At-large                Scott Davis, District 5
Bret Withers, District 6                   Anthony Davis, District 7           Nancy VanReece, District 8
Burkeley Allen, District                  Freddie O'Connell, District 19    Ed Kindall, District 21
Mina Johnson, District  23              Kathleen Murphy, District 24      Jeremy Elrod, District 26
Davette Blalock, District  27           Fabian Bedne, District 31            Dave Rosenberg, District 35

Voting "ABSTAIN"  
Erica Gilmore, At-large                  Bob Mendes, At-large                  Sharon Hurt, A-large
Angie Henderson, District 34 
                                               
NOT VOTING
DeCosta Hastings, District 2        Robert Swope, District 4                 Keven Rhoten, District 14
Colby Sledge, District 17             Sheri Weiner, District  22                                      

Please note that minutes show the only one absent from this meeting was Robert Swope. The others may have been there at one time and stepped out of the room, not paying attention, or simply chose not to vote.  It is very disappointing that some of those who voted in favor of the bill are members who are thought of as among the small handful of conservatives in the Council. Those who I am extremely disappointing with for supporting this bill or failing to vote against it, I have highlighted in red.

It is time to end this shameful practice. If you would like to tell your councilman to vote against this bill, follow this link and you may do so. To find your individual  council member's  phone number and email address, follow this link and click on their name. If your council member voted the right way last year, you may want to encourage them to also vote that way this year. If they sat on their hands and did not vote or voted "abstain," try to switch them to a "no" vote. Some of the "yes" could be switched to "no" if they get calls from their constituents. Note that there have been a couple changes in the Council makeup since last year. District 1 Councilman is now Johnathan Hall and the District 29 seat formerly occupied by Karen Johnson is now vacant.  The vacancy helps those who oppose civil forfeiture since Karen Johnson voted in favor of it last year. This was close last year, it could be defeated if people care enough to let it be know that they care.

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Chief Steve Anderson's Statement on the Warrant Issued Against Officer Andrew Delke

Chief Steve Anderson

Metro Press Release - The following is a statement from Chief Steve Anderson concerning today’s decision by the District Attorney to obtain a criminal homicide warrant against Officer Andrew Delke:

“The July 26th death of Daniel Hambrick was a tragedy.  I have publicly expressed my condolences to his mother.  Certainly, no parent should have to grieve the loss of a son or daughter.           
The events of July 26th have also forever impacted Officer Andrew Delke and his family.  Our community and this police department have been lastingly affected as well.
         
It is not proper for me at this time to discuss the events of July 26th.  The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has deferred to the District Attorney and the TBI all aspects of this investigation.  Therefore, this department’s administrative investigation into the fatal shooting of Daniel Hambrick is open but on hold.  As we learn more, the administrative investigation will proceed.
Because of today’s action, Officer Delke, who has been working a desk job, has, by protocol, been decommissioned.

I have long had great respect for, and confidence in, the justice system in Davidson County and the State of Tennessee. That respect and confidence remains.  It has been my experience that as the justice process proceeds, all of the facts and circumstances concerning an investigation will become known.”                                             

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Nashville Police Union rakes Briley over the coals. Here is the video.

by Rod Williams - This is almost painful to watch.  I am not a fan of David Briley but I feel sorry for him in this video.  It is a video of his May 1 appearance before the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police seeking their endorsement in the upcoming election. He did not get the endorsement. The police are not happy.

Last year the Metro Council voted to give Metro employees a three percent cost of living increase but they are not going to get it.  Metro's income is significantly less than anticipated.  Briley says his two highest priorities in developing the budget was to fund the cost of living increase and to give metro schools their budget request and he regrets not being able to do either. He also says he was committed to not raising taxes this year.

He is challenged on his decision not to seek a tax increase. One person ask him way he is so opposed to raising taxes when he just backed the transit plan which would have imposed a massive regressive tax on those least able to afford it. Briley has no good answer. I think it was a good question. (This questioning starts at timestamp 6:21 in the video.)

Why, in fact, won't Briley propose raising taxes this year? He has not made a pledge not to raise taxes next year, so why not just raise them now?  The obvious answer is political. A proposal to raise property taxes at the same time the tax referendum to fund a transit plan was on the ballot would have doomed the transit plan which, of course, failed anyway.  Also, proposing a tax increase now would hurt Briley's election chances in the upcoming mayor's race.

Metro is going to have to raise taxes or cut spending. While it seems every city always wants to grow, growth does not pay for itself.  Larger cities generally have higher taxes.  With growth comes more congestion, crime, social problems and demand for services.  Unless city leaders have a vision and commitment to keep taxes low, taxes increase.

While I support Carol Swain in the upcoming mayor's race, I hope she resist the temptation to promise everybody they will get all they want. Employees cannot get a cost of living raise and schools get their full funding request unless taxes are increased or cuts are made elsewhere. I favor cuts made elsewhere but also do not assume a 3% cost of living increase is necessarily justified nor do I assume Metro Schools should get everything they ask for. The Schools should not be exempt from scrutiny and seeking increased efficiency.

There are places budgets could be cut. For long term control of government spending, Metro's employee pension plan should be changed from a guaranteed benefit plan to a guaranteed contribution plan, Metro General Hospital is a relic of the days prior to medicaid and should be closed, every position and every function within government should be examined to eliminate waste, services than can be privatized should be privatized, Metro must make policy and personnel changes to get control of the runaway cost of police and firemen overtime pay, the Human Relations Commission which serves little purpose other than to promote political correctness should be abolished, and the city should eliminate its funding of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Either spending must be cut or taxes must be increased. That is an obvious fact. Doing either calls for leadership.

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Police union (FOP) not endorcing anyone for mayor

The Metro police union has made no endorsement in the Mayor's race which will be decided in a special election on May 24th.  In FOP balloting to select the union's choice for mayor, 425 votes were cast.  Mayor Briley got more votes than any other candidate but failed to garner 50% of the votes which is necessary to secure the FOP endorsement. No doubt, a large number of members voted for Briley simply because they want continuity in the office of mayor for a while. Continuity is office is the primary reason I hear people giving for supporting David Briley.

In the 2015 mayoral election, the FOP endorsed David Fox.  In this years balloting, former Vanderbilt University professor, author, and  conservative commentator Carol Swain came in second, gaining 23.3% of the vote.  That is significant. It raises her profile and may make her the leading alternative to Briley. Erica Gilmore, who is perceived as a leading candidate did not seek the FOP endorsement and got no votes. Here is how the FOP voted:

David Briley, Mayor: 41.7%
Carol Swain, former Vanderbilt political science professor, conservative commentator: 23.3%
Ralph Bristol, former radio conservative talk show host: 17%
Harold Love, State Rep. (D-Nashville): 3%
Jeff Napier: 1%
Julia Clark-Johnson: 14%.

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What's on the 1-23-18 Council agenda: The mayor's $9 billion transit plan, trampling property rights and stopping affordable housing, new Airbnb rules, and creating a Police Community Oversight Board

Update: This meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 23rd is the meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday January January 16th and was rescheduled due to bad weather.

By Rod Williams - The Metro Council will meet Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 6:30 PM in the Council chamber at the Metro Courthouse. The hot topics are the mayor's transit program, a bill to create a police citizen's review committee, the bill that would trample a person's property rights and kill an affordable housing development, and bills that would change the rules on Short Term Rentals such as Airbnb. If you are going to watch the Council meeting, you need a copy of the Council agenda and the staff analysis  or you really will not know what is going on. You can get the agenda and analysis at the highlighted links.

Mayor's mass transit plan.
Bill BL2017-1031  is the bill to adopt  the Mayor's transit improvement program and approving  the program, and requesting the Davidson County Election Commission to call a county-wide referendum election to be held on May 1, 2018 to approve the tax increases to support the program.  While this should be controversial, expect it to pass overwhelmingly. At a three and a half hour public hearing on January 9th the proponents vastly outweighed the opponents, supporters have been organizing for months, the proposal has the support of Chamber and other movers and shakers in town and the Council meeting as a special council committee composed of the entire body voted 29 to 1 to recommend it. A group called Transit for Nashville Coalition has gathered over 30,000 signatures in favor of a mass transit program for Nashville but the signatures were supporting mass transit not a specific amount of taxes to support mass transit.


Despite the vote in favor of approved this is already determined, I expect a few speeches in favor and look to Councilman Robert Swope and Councilman Jon Cooper to possibly speak against it.  While the bill says the price tag for the plan is $5.4 billion, when all cost are included the price tag is closer to $9 billion.  This assumes no cost overruns. With cost overruns typical of similar projects the real cost is more likely to be between $15 billion and $22 billion. While the vote on Tuesday night well be overwhelmingly in favor of the plan, I am not assuming it will be approved in a public referendum especially if organized resistance emerges.  Some Council members will justify their vote in favor by saying they are simply letting the public decide the issue. That is not what the bill does. It puts the Council on record endorsing the plan. To fully understand the issue see page 6-14 of the staff analysis.

Police Community Oversight Board
Bill BL2017-951  on Second Reading would establish a Community Oversight Board to conduct investigations and provide citizen oversight of officers of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.  It would provide for an eleven member board, seven nominated by citizens groups or by petition confirmed by the Council, two appointed by the Council and two appointed by the mayor subject to Council confirmation. The Board would have the authority to investigate allegations that MNDP officers have committed misconduct in violation of policy or criminal misconduct.The Board would hold regular meetings and have a staff of researchers and lawyers. This would cost about $386,000 a year. A previous Council staff analysis said there are due process concerns with the way the board would operate. In my view this bill needs to be defeated. This bill will probably not be voted on due to procedural issues regarding council rules. More than likely the sponsor will have to start over with a new bill.  Nevertheless, depending on how lenient the vice mayor is, expect some passionate speeches in favor.

Trampling property rights and stopping affordable housing

The Ridge Apartments

Bill BL2016-219   is the bill that tramples a persons property rights, partially taking property without compensation, and kills an affordable housing development. This bill is on third and final reading and it is a bill disapproved by the Planning Commission which means it will take 28 votes of the Council to pass.  This has been in the works for a very long time. Most zone changes allow people to do something with their property they were previously not allowed to do; this bill is a "down zoning," taking away a right someone now enjoys.  The developer is already vested in the project having designed the development and arranged financing.  If this passes it is an outrage. There will likely be lawsuit which Metro will most likely lose and the state has threatened to withhold low income housing tax credits, an essential financing tool for most affordable housing developments.  For more on this issue, see Contact your Council member. Stop the trampling of property rights and the killing of an affordable housing development.

Changing the rules regarding Short Term Rental (Airbnb" or home sharing). 
Bill BL2017-608,  Substitute Bill BL2017-937,  Bill BL2017-981, and Bill BL2017-982   all concern short term rentals. I am supporting 937, the least offensive of the bills. The worst of the bill, which would phase out non-owner-occupied short term rentals in areas zoned residential is bill 608. Bill 937 is being supported by the the citizens groups of home sharing advocates. It was worked on for a very long time by a special Council committee and was the subject of numerous meetings. It is called the "compromise" bill but many of the more vocal neighborhood activist are not happy and want to abolish home sharing all together and favor 608 which would abolish non-owner-occupied short term rental. For a more detailed explanation of these bills follow this link, this link, or see the staff analysis starting on page 16.

    


Other agenda items:
There are seven mayoral appointees to Boards and Commission on the agenda for confirmation and as always they will be affirmed. There are no bills or resolutions on public hearing.  There are 10 bills on first reading. First reading is a formality that gets bills on the agenda and they are not considered by committee until after they pass first reading.  Normally bills on First Reading are all lumped together and pass by a single vote. It is rare that a bill on First Reading is voted on separately. I normally do not read bills until they get to second reading.
 
There are 12 resolution on the agenda and all are on the consent agenda at this time. A resolution stays on the consent agenda if it passes  unanimously the committees to which it was assigned. Resolutions which receive negative votes in committee are pulled off of consent. Also any councilman may have a resolution pulled off of consent. Those remaining on consent are lumped together and passed by a single vote. Resolutions on the consent agenda are usually not controversial and tend to be routine matters, such as accepting grants from the Federal or State Government, entering into inter agency agreements over mundane things, appropriating money from the 4% fund, settling lawsuits, or approving signs overhanging the sidewalk. Unlike a bill which requires three votes of the Council to pass, a resolution only requires one vote of the Council. None of the resolutions on this agenda are of much interest.

There are only four  bills on Second Reading and one of them is the bill to create a Police Community Oversight Board discussed above and another is the mayor's transit plan above. The only other bill on second reading of interest is this one:

Bill BL2017-941  would establish a a Commercial Permit Parking Program. The council would have to approve the geographic areas in which this applied. In those areas commercial vehicles could only park on the street if they had a permit to do so.  As we grow, parking become more of a problem with people parking on streets taking parking places that deny those spaces to those who have businesses or residence on the street a place to park. These seems reasonable.

There are 32 bills on Third Reading. One of them is the bill to trample property rights discussed above.  Others are the bill concerning short term rental discussed above. Bill BL2017-1026 is the only other bill of interest and it is only of interest because it is a bill disapproved by the Planning Commission and will require 28 votes to pass.  It changes from RS5 to RM20-A zoning on property located at 1308 Montgomery Avenue.

To watch the Council meeting, you can go to the courthouse and watch the meeting in person but I wouldn't recommend it. There will be a mob of people for this meeting. You can watch the broadcast live at Metro Nashville Network's Government TV on Nashville's Comcast Channel 3 and AT&T's U-verse 99 and it is streamed live at the Metro Nashville Network's livestream site and you can watch it live on Roku. You can catch the meeting the next day (or the day after the next) on the Metro YouTube channel. If can stand the suspense and just wait, I will post the video on this blog the day after or the day after that and provide commentary.

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Dear Immigrant, About the police....

Dear Immigrant,

I know the mayor of our city has been critical of Immigration police because immigrants might not know the difference between ICE and Metro Police.  I am going to try to help the Mayor help you sort this out.

In Nashville, as well as in the rest of America, you will see a variety of different types of "police," or law enforcement officers or security people.  You need to be aware that not everyone who has a badge and a vest that says "police" and a leather belt with a stuff hanging off of it are all the same. Not every car with light bar across the top and that looks like a police car is a Metro Police car but if the light is flashing, I would suggest getting out of the way.

We do not have a national police force in America, the way many countries do. Our founders did not think having a national police force was a good idea.  I know the country you came from may have had a national police force and it may have been corrupt and may have been used to suppress descent and to prop up the regime.  Such is not the case in this country.  Police in this country are local. Also, they are usually not used by politician to harass political opponents and prop up the current administration and they do not normally accept bribes. I know for many of you, that bribing the police was part of routine business in your country of origin. In many places in the world the police are corrupt; not so much in America.

In Davidson County, in addition to the Metro Police, we have the Davidson County Sheriff's deputies and they wear a uniform and drive police-type cars, but the Sheriff's office in this county does not have law enforcement duties.  They keep the jail and serve civil warrants. If being served with a warrant, I suggest accepting it and not smarting off.  They are not going to arrest you, all they are going to do is give you a piece of paper. They are not going to ask you about your immigration status.

Locally, other prominent "police" you may encounter are the Fire Marshall and Metro School Police.  The Metro School Police have law enforcement duties on Metro school property and I think they investigate truant students, but I am not sure about that. Also you will see school crossing guards.  They are part of the Police Department. There job is to make cars slow down in school zones and to

help children safely cross the street.  They will not ask you about your immigration status.

Another type of "police" you will encounter in Nashville is the Vanderbilt Police and maybe other college police.  By an agreement with Metro, they can write traffic tickets and they have other police functions. Don't argue with them and say, "Well, you are just a campus police and I'm not a student and not on campus."  They can arrest you.  There authority stretches beyond the campus boundaries.

You may encounter the Berry Hill Police or the Belle Meade Police.  Nashville is one big city that covers the whole county but we do have these little cities within the city.  These police from Berry Hill really are police. Also, much like campus police, they can enforce law near to but outside their city limits.  Anyway, you probably won't know where the city limits are of these small cities. Be aware that the Berry Hill police are very particular about people driving over the speed limit in their city, so be careful.

In addition to local police you may encounter others with police powers. In Tennessee we have the TBI, and the Highway Patrol. Also, Wild Life Resource Officers and Park Rangers and several other people authorized to make arrest and enforce some laws.  Don't get caught fishing without a license or a Park Ranger or a Wildlife Resource Officer or Fish and Game Warden may give you a ticket or maybe arrest you.  I am not sure exactly what duties they have. I am not sure if Wild Life Resource Officers are the same as Fish and Game Wardens or not, they may be a different name for the same thing. Even a native born American and a citizen of the State of Tennessee is not always certain who can do what.

There are also lots of Federal law enforcement agents you may encounter. There are thousands and

thousands of them.  You know about ICE, of course, and the Border Patrol, but another major agency of the Federal Government to be aware of is the FBI. They normally do not enforce local law unless called in to help local police. Other major Federal law enforcement agencies are the United States Marshals Service (USMS), , the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

In addition to the big Federal law enforcement organizations there are dozens of other agencies, maybe hundreds, with limited law enforcement authority. The Department of Agriculture has the Office of Inspector General (USDA OIG), the United States Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations (USFS LEI).  That is just Ag; Commerce Department has a bunch of gun-toting uniformed organizations under Commerce authority. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has there own armed force. the EPA and Social Security have an armed force. In my view we have too many armed federal agents.  If an agency of government has a military-style police force, they will find an excuse to use it.  I think people should be able to deal with their government without being intimidated. I know all of this about the military units of different bureaucracies is a lot of information and hard to keep up with it all.  Don't even try.

Sometimes these Federal police agencies act like the police in authoritarian countries.  On August 24th, 2011, a SWAT team of about 20 federal agents armed with high-powered weapons raided the Gibson Guitar factories in Nashville and Memphis. They detained people without charges, and confiscated property and treating people like terrorist. They were not looking for undocumented people but for undocumented wood. Why it took a 20-person swat team intimidating and terrorizing people when one guy with a summons dressed in a business suit could have done the job is beyond me. That should not happen in America, but it does. (link)


Each branch of he military has its own police which usually just concernx itself with military people who are misbehaving, but they may be authorized to enforce traffic laws near their military base. If you are in the vicinity of Fort Campbell, you may encounter the Fort Campbell Military Police.

Sometimes, "police" or not really police but get away with acting like it. Back in 2010 - 2013 Metro Government tried to stamp out emerging alternatives to taxi and limousine service. The city had a price-fixing scheme and arcane regulations designed to protect then current transit companies from competition. To stamp out the emerging competition, the city used police-state-like tactics.  The Transportation Licensing Commission acted like police-state gangsters, illegally impersonating police officers, illegally using blue lights, writing tickets on phony trumped-up charges and intimidating and threatening drivers of the independent private car services.  Many of the drivers of the independent car companies were immigrants and some came from authoritarian countries where the police are feared and corrupt. They were more susceptible to "police" intimidation than native-born Americans. This tactic of intimidation and illegally impersonating police was exposed, got national attention and ended. (link)  You will probably never encounter something like this but just be aware that it does happen.

There is a whole other type of police that are private police.  There are private investigators who often work for attorneys in civil and criminal cases and do things like try to catch a cheating spouses, or investigate fraud, or serve summons. They have to be licensed by the state.  They are often armed. I don't know if they carry a badge in Tennessee or not.  They are not official government law enforcement officers but they know the law. A special type of private investigator is insurance investigators who investigate false insurance claims.

Another type of private police is those who work for alarm or security companies such as ADT. Some patrol neighborhoods in gated communities or patrol large industrial areas. Also, they respond to monitored alarm system alarms. They look like police and drive what looks like police cars. They are usually armed and are licensed by the State but they are not real police.

The most common type of private "police" you will see are the mall cop or big department store cops or the "police" you see at music or sporting events. These are often called "rent-a-cops."  They  protect the public from people who would rob them or commit violence,  deter crime, and do crowd control.  I don't think they really have any police authority.  Some of the "police" you see at things like sporting events really are police and working these events is there off-duty job.  An off-duty policeman is still a policeman with all of the powers and authority he would have working on-duty.

I am not an expert on the exact authority each type of "police" have. This is just a quick explanation.  The point of this essay is to explain that not every person performing policing duties is a Metro Nashville Police Department policeman. The mayor seems to think that that is what immigrants believe.

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Mayor Barry sides with the DA's Office, throws Police Chief Anderson under the bus.

May 21, 2017 - When on May 11 District Attorney General Glenn Funk announced that his office would not be bringing charges against police officer Josh Lippert for the shooting of  Jocques Clemmons, the Black man killed by White police officer Lippert during a police stop in James C. Casey Homes, I expected riots to break out.  I expected to see news clips of Black rioters carrying big screen TV's out of window-smashed stores and looted liquor stores with bare shelves.  I expected to see Black rioters burn down the businesses that serve their community. That has been the pattern time and time again in other cities when a police officer has been exonerated for shooting a Black man. I was pleased that my expectations were wrong. When the announcement was made, three prominent Black ministers called for calm and the established civil right leaders did not inflame the situation.

District Attorney Glenn Funk

When DA Gleen Funk announced he was not bringing charges against officer Lippert, he did so in a hour-long news conference in which he took the opportunity to say that while the officer would not be charged with a crime, the way the Police conducted the investigation was biased.

The criticism of the police looks like nitpicking to me. The Assistant District Attorney Amy Hunter criticized the Police report on the shooting for using the term "suspect" to describe Clemmons.   The DA's office also claimed the Police Department completing their investigation of the shooting within five hours and criticized them for it.

In a letter the Chief wrote to the Assistant DA, he explained why the term "suspect" was used and gave her a copy of the departments report writing manual. Chief Anderson says that it simply is not so that the investigation was completed in five hours. While a report of the incident was issued within five hours, the investigation continued for days.  "You are well aware that the MNPD continued this investigation for a number of days after the event," wrote Anderson. "Second, you are aware, or should be aware, through your day to day duties that investigations are almost never 'completed."'

More "war of words" ensued and then the Mayor stepped into the fray. The Tennessean reported it as, "Mayor Barry scolded the city's top law enforcement officials at a news conference, telling Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson and District Attorney Glen Funk to 'stop the war of words."'

Police Chief Steve Anderson

The article says she held "mediation" between Anderson and Funk. The way it is reported it looks like the Mayor took charge and resolved a conflict.  From the accounts you may think of it as a school principle calling two boys into her office and saying, "now, I want you to cut it out."'  There is something wrong with this picture.

While the Police Chief answers to the Mayor and serves at her pleasure, not so with the DA. The DA is a Constitutional Officer elected by the people.  He does not answer to the Mayor.  If the mayor tells the Police Chief, "I want to see you in my office," he goes.  If she tells another elected officials, it is really an invitation which he may or may not accept. One can not think of the Mayor at the top of a pyramid with two department heads below her who are having a conflict.

In addition to "mediating" the conflict, Mayor Barry also established some new rules for situations like this. "Now and in the future the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability should refrain from issuing any reports or recommendations on an officer involved use of force until any criminal investigation into the officer’s actions is closed, and we will take the necessary steps to make sure that’s going to happen," she said. She also said that she had told Chief Anderson that in the future before he writes a letter like the one he wrote to the assistant DA, that he discuss it with her first.

If it looks like the Mayor determined most of the fought for the conflict lay with Anderson and she let Funk off the hook. That may be because that is the way she perceives it or it may be because she has leverage with Anderson and absolutely no leverage with Funk.

I believe the whole attack on Anderson was a public relations ploy to placate angry Black citizens so they would not riot.  In effect the DA said, "We have to let the White cop who killed a Black man off because it was a justified shooting, but we do agree with you that the Police Department is biased against Blacks."

In an article in today's Tennessean an attorney who has been involved in civil cases brought against cities in police shooting cases says the DA's comments alleging  bias on the part of the police could be helpful to the Clemmons family if they bring a civil case. He also said he could be helpful in any future shooting incident. He said in civil cases, the plaintiff does not have to focus on the actions of the officer involved but show that he "acted within a system that caters to bias."  The DA may have handed the Clemmons family a big win in a civil case.  I don't know if this was intentional or by accident.

In this battle between the Police Chief and the DA, my sympathies are with the Chief.  And while the press may be selling Mayor Barry as the great arbitrator and peace maker, I'm not buying it.

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Below are the prepared remarks of  Mayor Megan Barry following her meeting with the DA and Police Chief.

Thank you for being here today.

The Metro Nashville Police Department and District Attorney’s Office we know are critical components to the safety of our city and the safety of the public in general. From time to time there may be areas of disagreement, and that is true of many components of government, but we need to be able to work together to make sure our citizens are safe, which is always the highest priority. I want all parties to stop the war of words as they need to communicate and cooperate.

On Thursday of last week, General Funk held a press conference to announce his decision not to seek an indictment against Officer Joshua Lippert in the shooting death of Jocques Clemmons. During that press conference, General Funk and members of his staff criticized the methodology and terminology used in portions of the investigation by the MNPD. The concerns raised by General Funk during that were not germane to his ultimate decision not to indict the Officer. It would have been more appropriate to sit down and discuss this report with the MNPD in advance of the press conference so they would have the opportunity to discuss the findings and explain any possible misunderstandings.

Following the press conference, Chief Anderson issued a very harsh letter directed towards Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter who had been assigned by General Funk to deliver that portion of the report during the event. It was inappropriate of Chief Anderson to do that, and I have told him as much. Those issues should have been directed towards me. So on behalf of Metro Nashville, I want to apologize to General Hunter. I have directed Chief Anderson to discuss any correspondence of this nature with me in the future.

After having had the opportunity to review the observations from General Funk at his press conference last Thursday, and after reading Chief Anderson’s letter to Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter refuting the observations, I believe there are some next steps to move forward and they need to be done together.

• Now and in the future the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Office of Professional Accountability should refrain from issuing any reports or recommendations on an officer involved use of force until any criminal investigation into the officer’s actions is closed, and we will take the necessary steps to make sure that’s going to happen.
• The Metro Nashville Police Department and District Attorney’s Office will work together on a joint training program to create a better understanding of policies and procedures on both sides.
• While the TBI has not released guidance to local law enforcement organizations on how to investigate officer-involved shootings, we have received their own internal Standard Operating Procedure manual and I have asked the MNPD to review and adopt best practices locally for use of force investigations to enhance community trust when we have those findings.
• As for the MOU between the MNPD, TBI, and DA – it was discussed and negotiated over the course of several weeks. All parties had reviewed and read the document they signed, and there is no indication that the MNPD has deviated from those guidelines in the incident that occurred in Antioch. However, it is apparent that issues have arisen that may need to be addressed through amendments or revisions to the MOU in order to further clarify each agency’s role in the future and we will be working to do that.

I believe these steps will help to resolve some lingering questions of fact and opinion, while enhancing trust and cooperation between these two organizations.

So, let me close with this. Public safety is the foundational role of government – it is quite literally, the most important thing we do: to making sure the public is safe.

I believe that every Nashvillian deserves to live in a safe community.

I believe that every Nashvillian deserves to feel safe in his or her community, regardless of economic status, skin color or what country he or she may have come from.

I want us all to work together to ensure that we are doing what we need to do – whether that is by protecting victims of crime by arresting and prosecuting dangerous criminals, or ensuring that community members feel they are being treated fairly and equitably throughout all facets of the criminal justice system – and I have spoken with both Chief Anderson and General Funk and they will work with me to do just that.

#

For more on this story see the following news accounts:
The Tennessean: Nashville police chief blasts DA's accusation of bias during Jocques Clemmons investigation 
Nashville Patch: Nashville Mayor Chides Police Chief, DA
The Tennessean: Mayor Megan Barry: 'War of words' between DA, police chief must stop 
The Tennessean:  Experts: DA's comments on bias open Nashville to lawsuits in deadly police shooting investigations

To read the DA's 32-page report which includes the reference to bias in the Police Department, follow this link.

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Mayor Barry Remarks after DA Funk’s Announcement in Officer Lippert Investigation

Office of Mayor Megan Barry press release, May 11, 2017- To all of the many men and women who have diligently investigated the shooting on February 10th that claimed the life of Jocques Clemmons, I want to thank you for your hard work and your resolve to seek the truth about what happened on that fateful day.

And as Mayor, I know that decisions about justice must be made impartially and based on the facts and on the laws.

I know General Funk has thoroughly reviewed this case through a lens to ensure that if any criminal wrong-doing took place, it would be appropriately punished. General Funk has gone further than any prosecutor before him in ensuring that a shooting death caused by an officer be independently investigated as a way to promote the trust and confidence of the entire community.

Throughout this process, myself, Chief Anderson, and General Funk have been very intentional in not drawing conclusions until the case could be thoroughly investigated and the facts established.
Now that the District Attorney has closed the criminal case, there will be an administrative review of Officer Lippert’s actions to determine if the situation was handled appropriately and whether any disciplinary action is warranted, or if there needs to be any changes to policies, training, or procedure as a result of this incident.

This has been a challenging time for our city.

Over the last few weeks and months following the shooting, I’ve met with members of the community – from the family of Jocques Clemmons, to the NAACP, to clergy, to business people and African-American youth. One message has been consistent - a desire for positive actions – not just in the area of policing – but in equity and inclusion, opportunity and empowerment, in knowing that leaders in our government care - and want to do the right thing.

There are some in our community who are fearful or distrustful of the police, and we still have work to do as a government to promote greater support and trust and transparency – which we are seeking to address through accountability initiatives such as body-worn cameras and through community policing initiatives such as foot patrols to promote more familiarity between police officers and citizens.

General Funk has also outlined some suggested initiatives that may or may not be directly related to this case but he feels should be further reviewed going forward - Some of which we have already begun addressing.

We’ve established an MOU with the TBI, MNDP, and DA so that in the future, police shootings that result in a death will be investigated solely by the TBI.

We have taken action to promote more diversity and inclusive hiring practices within the MNPD so we have a force that better reflects the composition of our city.

The mayor’s office, along with the Police Department, has been working closely with Judge Sheila Calloway on Restorative Diversion programs for our youth.

But we can always do more and we can always do better – as a government, as a community, as a people - to be a more equitable and to be more inclusive and to make sure that every citizen IS safe, every citizen feels safe, and every citizen has trust in our Police Department and government to serve them and to protect them equally.

Many people, including me, acknowledge that there are systemic issues in our criminal justice system that need to be addressed. Often - interaction with our police is a person’s entry point into the criminal justice system, and that is where we should begin to look at reform.

I, however, see a bigger picture. The majority of crime is rooted in poverty, and while we have to begin to reform the criminal justice system, we also have to make bigger and better strides to reduce and eliminate poverty in our most vulnerable communities. Improving policing is part of the solution and is important, but providing access to quality, affordable housing, providing access to better jobs and financial empowerment, providing access to high quality education - can greatly reduce everyone’s chances of having a law enforcement encounter with a police officer.

And since I came into office 19 months ago, we’re focused on just that – the bigger picture.
General Funk’s decision not to bring criminal charges against Officer Lippert does not close or end those conversations. We must endeavor to ensure that all voices and opinions are heard regarding the laws and policies that govern us all. There are no easy or quick answers, and the conversations can sometimes be difficult and painful, but I have confidence in our Nashville community that we can move forward in a way that makes us a stronger city for all.

Thank you.

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Jocques Clemmons Shooting: Officer Justified, MNPD Says; DA Plans Press Conference

An internal report from Metro Police released Thursday includes a previously undisclosed eyewitness account of the Jocques Clemmons shooting

By J.R. Lind (Patch Staff) - May 11, 2017 - NASHVILLE, TN — An internal affairs investigation says Joshua Lippert, the Metro Police officer who shot and killed Jocques Clemmons in the James Cayce Homes in February, was justified in firing his gun. (link)

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David Fox endorsed by Nashville police union

By Joey Garrison, The Tennessean, August 24, 2015 - Nashville mayoral candidate David Fox on Monday picked up the endorsement of the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police....."We are proud to endorse and support David Fox for mayor of Nashville," said Danny Hale, president of the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police. "David is clearly the common-sense candidate who is most focused on real needs of Nashville's neighborhoods. And the issues he cares most about are also important to all of our men and women in blue." (link)

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Applications Now Being Accepted for Citizen Police Academy Session that Begins July 6

Press release - Nashvillians interested in learning about the inner workings of their police department and its enforcement/investigative strategies are cordially invited to apply for the 31^st session of the popular Citizen Police Academy, which begins its 12-week run on Monday, July 6^th.

          Classes will be held on Monday nights from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. through September 21^st in the community room of the Madison Precinct, 400 Myatt Drive.  Because class size is limited, interested persons are urged to apply immediately.  The deadline for applications is June 17^th.

          Participants will learn about police work through the perspective of a variety of guest speakers, including members of the police department’s specialized components.  Topics will include gangs, domestic violence, traffic/DUI enforcement, internet crimes, emergency preparedness, crime prevention and the judicial process.  There will also be a tour of the Emergency Communications Center and a demonstration by the Aviation, Canine and Mounted Units.

          “The Citizen Police Academy is a unique way to learn more about law enforcement in Nashville and how our officers partner with citizens to enhance the safety of neighborhoods,” Chief Steve Anderson said.  “We are genuinely proud to offer this program, which, since 1995, has graduated nearly 1,400 Nashvillians.”

          Each applicant should commit to attending at least 10 of the 12 sessions, be a Davidson County resident/business owner at least 21years old, and have no arrest record (excluding minor traffic violations).  While completion of the course gives citizens an understanding of the workings of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, it does not make a participant a certified law enforcement officer, nor is it designed to train citizens to perform law enforcement duties.  Applications are available at any of the department’s 8 precincts.  They can also be submitted on the Internet by logging onto http://www.nashville.gov/Police-Department/Get-Involved/Citizen-Police-Academy.aspx

          Persons desiring an application by mail or fax, or persons with questions, are invited to contact Michelle Crowder, the department’s Citizen Police Academy Coordinator, at 943-2110, or Officer Troy Meadows at 880-1781.

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This ain't Mayberry. The militirization of the Nashville Police Department.

Patrolling the streets of Ferguson Mo.

It is not often I agree with Rachel Maddow but last night I was watching her show on MSNBC and she was reporting on the disruption in Ferguson Missouri and she reported on how the police had responded to the disturbance riding on armored personnel carriers  with snipers on top and policemen in full battle gear.  From there she expanded her report to report on the militarization of police across America.  The federal government makes funds available to local police department to buy surplus military equipment and they do. I share her concern about the militarization of our police.

The segment reported that many police departments even have mine sweepers.  One policeman who had spend his whole career on the bomb squad said he had never encountered a mine in all his years of police work.

Now, there are not many Mayberry's left where the Sheriff can go unarmed and the chief deputy gets only one bullet, but that does not mean we need the police to become small armies. Certainly, the police need to be well armed and well protected. Many criminals have AK47's which can penetrate body armor and go through  a person and out the other side. The police need to me able to meet the threat.  However, crime has actually been falling for decades now.  Crime is now about the same as in 1960.  With crime falling for decades now, why now do we need a police force that looks like an army? 

Do the police need a mine-resistant
vehicle in Nashville? 

I know a lady who smokes a little pot and she had a pot plant growing in her back yard at her home in Englewood.  A disgruntled tenant of hers who had stopped paying her rent and had to be evicted had seen the plant and tuned this person in to the police.  The police descended on this lady's home with several cars and a swat team dressed in black with assault rifles at the ready. Actually she said the police were nice and did not even do a good check of her home.  The pot plant had long been removed. The police asked to look around and walked around the well kept flower beds and finding no pot plant apologized for the inconvenience and left. In my view, police should not respond to this type of complaint ready for battle.

If police departments have swat teams, and K-9 units trained in crowd control, and helicopters and tanks, they will look for opportunities to use them.  Reporting in today's Nashville Scene, Steven Hale reports that included in surplus military equipment purchased by the city of Nashville are four helicopters, a mine-resistant vehicle, and two "other armored vehicles."  Wilson County and Williamson County have a mine-resistant vehicle each and Rutherford County has two. Our police force could probably take over a small country. Why do we need four helicopters?  Why do we need a mine sweeper?

The police need to "preserve and protect."  One needs to think of your local policemen as the good guys not an army of occupation.  Nationally the Congress needs to hold hearing on the issue of the militarization of police.  How much armament is too much for a local police force? What are we preparing for?  Locally, we should not wait for the issue to be addressed nationally, our local Metro Council Public Safety Committee needs to hold hearings and ask the Chief to justify this level of militarization. It needs to end.

Additional Comment:
Why I am concerned about the level of militarization of our local police, I did not want to leave the impression that our police routinely act inappropriately. I do think sending a swat team to investigate a tip that someone is growing marijuana in their back yard is excessive, but I agree with the following comment posted to his Facebook page by my friend Barry Donegan:

Seeing what's going on in Ferguson once again reminds me why Nashvillians are lucky in that our local police are more reasonable than in other places and tend to respond to protests by sending one or two officers out, not wearing armor, not riding in tanks, not standing in a line 100 strong in body armor with shields, not pointing sniper rifles at people, but just a couple guys in blue with a regular old pistol in the holster, and who usually announce something along the lines of "we are not here to stop you from protesting, but just to make sure everyone's safe."

Guess what else: nothing really ever escalates and no one gets hurt. No one starts smashing windows out downtown and stealing anything. Police presence at protests shouldn't be provocative, and, to my knowledge, Nashville police never really do things to escalate these situations, and, subsequently, things rarely ever escalate.

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Update: Mayor's budget hearing for police, fire, sheriff and related departments

The 2014 Mayor's office budget hearings started today. Below are links to the Metro Police Department, Fire, Sheriff's Office and some other related departments.  I will be watching some of them and summarizing and commending but will not watch them all. Anyone contemplating running for Metro Council should watch all of the hearings.  Since Metro had a property tax increase last year, I doubt a property tax increase will be proposed this year. Unfortunately, metro departments only get close scrutiny during years in which a tax increase is  proposed.

FY15 Office of Emergency Management Mayoral Budget Hearing  

 
FY15 Police Department Mayoral Budget Hearing, 03/31/14

  Police ask for additional funding to open a new precinct.

FY15 Emergency Communications Center Mayoral Budget Hearing, 03/31/14

 FY15 Sheriff's Office Mayoral Budget Hearing, 03/31/14 by MetroGovNashville 

  

FY15 Nashville Fire Department Mayoral Budget Hearing

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Council Hearings: Police Department

05/23/12 Police

Following behind Schools, which would get 42% of the mayor's 13% tax increase, police and fire and a 4% raise for metro employees are the next largest pieces of the tax increase pie. 

Let me be clear that I oppose a tax increase, however, if a council member just votes "no" on the Mayor's budget, that is really  a vote for the Mayor's budget.  Confused? Unless the Council passes an alternative budget, the Mayor's budget becomes law without any action by the council. The job of the Council, if they wish to defeat the Mayor's budget is to come up with an alternative budget. It is easy to say "I oppose a tax increase." It is more difficult to develop an alternative budget. 

If the police department does not get an increase as proposed by the Mayor, policemen will have to be laid off or a large amount of money will have to be shifted from the rest of Metro government to police. Why? Because a lot of policemen on the force are currently being paid with funds from a one-time stimulus grant from the Obama administration.  Also, if those policemen are not retained, the city may have to repay the grant. Also, without a tax increase or finding the money elsewhere, the new Madison police precinct can not be funded and the newly build crime lab will not be staffed.


Chief Steve Anderson makes the presentation and it is 50 minutes long. 

Chief Anderson starts his presentation by comparing Memphis to Nashville. Memphis with a population of about 60,000 more people has 2513 officers compared to 1373 Nashville officers, says chief Anderson. I know it is not polite to say such things, but Nashville is less Black than Memphis and less poor, so we have less propensity for crime. Nashville is only 27.6% Black and Memphis is 61.41% Black. I am discounting the comparison as irrelevant. 

Chief Anderson makes the case that the TBI cannot provide the level of DNA testing we need. Currently DNA  is only provided for personal crimes and with our own lab we can do DNA testing for property crimes and catch more people who commit burglaries. 


Council Tygerd ask about take-home vehicles. No one who lives out of county has take-home vehicles.With no increase in the budget, the police department would lose about 200 officers says Chief Anderson in response to a question by Council Member Megan Berry (18:24). When we have "special events" such as a visiting dignitary coming to town (VP Biden and First Lady Obama are recent examples not mentioned by name)  we bear  the full cost of the extra protection says Chief  Anderson in response to a question by Councilman Claiborn (31:30). Also, extra police necessary to provide services for events such as a Titans game are borne by the city not the Titans.


Councilman Bedne ask if the Police could take over the police function of the troubled Transportation Licensing Commission (34:58). Chief Anderson says the Police Department could do it but it would not result in any savings. Council Dominy (37:08) says he does not think anyone wants to cut the police staff. In response to a question by Dominy, Chief Anderson explains why police stops are part of the important process of policing.  Only 22% of the traffic stops result in a ticket. 


While I would not advocate massive cuts from the Mayor's proposal for the Police Department, I do not think the police should be exempt from some cuts. Who is to say that the proposed level of funding is the optimum funding level compatible with what we can afford?  Based on the type of questioning from this committee hearing, I do not think the Council has the appetite to take away any of the extra funding the Mayor has given the police. The Council should have asked tougher questions. They should not have let the Chief get off with his Memphis comparison without some counter arguments. This hearing was more of a love fest than an examination of a budget from people seeking cost savings.  If the Council is unwilling to cut Schools, police and fire, they cannot balance the budget with current revenues by nickle and diming the minor departments.

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