What we need most right now is for @JohnCooper4Nash and Chief Anderson to jointly lead an immersive conversation about what real public safety is in Nashville.
And it should have some clear goals. It should deal with challenging data and expect to agree to meaningful reforms.
Specifically and especially, that means publicly grappling with the troubling data revealed by the @gideonsarmyutd "Driving While Black" report:
…ileblacknashville.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/drivin…
It means grappling with that data having been reinforced by the @policingproject:
static1.squarespace.com/static/58a33e8…
It means grappling with the authentic community concerns raised in the work of #Liberate37208:
nashville.gov/Portals/0/Site…
And it means considering that it might be time to enter a new era of public safety, per the work of @civilrightsorg:
civilrights.org/wp-content/upl…
There are specific, popular, evidence-based, low-cost reforms we can and should pursue immediately.
We're working on #8CantWait. That's great. And it's a start.
But let's go further. Let's get the entire @MNPDNashville general policy manual and training documents online (with reasonable exceptions, e.g., for active shooter scenarios).
Let's voluntarily suspend our participation in the federal Equitable Sharing program so that we're not incented to engage in civil asset forfeiture, especially when it requires sidestepping state and local regulations.
In #MetroCouncil, we should pass a resolution formally recognizing racial disparities arising from our traffic stop program and requesting information from MNPD about related policy changes, including training.
We should pilot neighborhood policing, with less drive-through patrol car activity and more direct interaction. The pilot should be community-based in its implementation.
We should complete and release a comprehensive study of Nashville's fines and fees as applied throughout our criminal legal system. The work of the report is complete. We just need to make it public.
And we should, together, keep returning to communities that don't feel safe and work hard to understand why and what can be done about it.
I represent many of these communities. There is anguish and anger.
Acknowledging that we can do better is not a condemnation of the good that is being done.
Public safety itself must be an equitable pursuit. We have work to do.
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