Freddie O’Connell Profile picture
Jun 10, 2020 13 tweets 4 min read Read on X
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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More from @freddieoconnell

Dec 23, 2020
Like many Nashvillians, I just received this postcard reminding me of new water rates taking effect Jan 1, 2021.

The postcard implicates #MetroCouncil in approving this plan. That’s not the whole story, which is an important one.
#MetroCouncil actually serves as a local utility board for @NashvilleMWS, which has no separate independent board of directors. For _years_, MWS was informing mayors of increasing fiscal strain. And for years, mayors told them not to tell Council.
Meanwhile, @TNCOT was _also_ telling Nashville’s mayors about an increasingly severe issue with our utility’s finances. These messages _also_ never reached #MetroCouncil.

(We have since resolved this so this should not happen again.)
Read 14 tweets
Oct 4, 2020
4 years ago, at a @NOAH_Action meeting, I asked @DaronHall7 if this was possible. He entertained my question in good faith and asked for time to explore it, which he and his staff did very responsibly.

Today is a huge moment: we have ended private prisons in Nashville.
En route, we made sure that any future contracts would have improved transparency and monitoring and that #MetroCouncil would be empowered to review future private contracts.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
If you want to see how thoroughly @NashSheriff evaluated the transition process, they worked hard on a detailed report that assessed both cost and risk:

drive.google.com/file/d/1jP_Tue…
Read 6 tweets
Oct 1, 2020
With yesterday’s departure of Audra Ladd from the mayor’s office, following the departure of ECD director Jamari Brown in December, we effectively have no @Nashville_ECD.

This is truly troubling to me in the middle of a pandemic.
I’m here to tell you that the single biggest thing I hear from anxious Nashvillians about what they want right now is income. Which means work. Which means jobs.

Right now, we have no one focused on attracting, recruiting, and retaining jobs in Nashville.
There are industries that are thriving. Does it make sense to try to recruit a specific industry or company to Nashville right now that would be a good short-term and long-term fit? I wish we had someone doing the analysis to make that determination!
Read 11 tweets
Sep 30, 2020
Just grabbed my last-ever cup of @ZolliKoffee. Today’s their last day in business.

Zolli created a great space for community conversations, attached at the hip to @JackalopeBrew tap room.

Small businesses need more support than they’re getting. Image
I knew this post would be a little bit of a #COVID19 Rorschach test.

Zolli believes in public health leadership and was able to last longer with federal support.

His business was dependent on activities that are reduced without the lockdown: offices, hospitality.
We can’t decouple the public health risks of #COVID19 (which are real) from the economic impact.

It is possible to #OpenSafely. That is not the same as it being easy.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
Last week, our family decided, with full participation of our 9yo in the discussion, to return to school in person as soon as @MetroSchools offers it for 4th grade.

Why? A few reasons.
Principally, in a household with an evidence-based pediatrician, we’re attentive to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation:

services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-…
The part in bold is this: “the AAP strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”
Read 8 tweets
Sep 8, 2020
This #LaborDay, I’m thinking about Gustavo Enrique Ramirez, a 16yo who fell to his death on a Nashville construction site that lacked sufficient safety standards.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve had too many injuries and deaths on construction sites in Nashville, including in District 19. We can do better.
How do I know? Because last term, we passed the “Do Better” bill. Transparency, including safety records, with access to public dollars improves worker safety.

nashville.gov/mc/ordinances/…
Read 9 tweets

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