Nashville Community Oversight Board

The Community Oversight Board (COB) of Nashville, Tennessee is an independent body to review cases of alleged Metropolitan Nashville police misconduct. It appeared as Amendment 1 on the November 6, 2018 ballot in Davidson County and was approved by voters.[1]

Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board
CoB overview
JurisdictionNashville, Tennessee
Employeesat least 9
CoB executives
  • Ashlee Davis, Chair
  • Jamel Campbell-Gooch, First Vice Chair
  • Phyllis Hildreth, Second Vice Chair
  • Bob Cooper, Secretary
Key document
Websitehttps://www.nashville.gov/Government/Boards-and-Committees/Committee-Information/ID/132/Community-Oversight-Board.aspx

Members

The board has 11 members: 7 nominated by community organizations or private petitions of at least 50 Davidson County residents, 2 by City Council Representatives, and 2 by the Mayor.[2] At least 4 must come from economically distressed areas.[3]

On January 22, 2019, the Metro Council appointed the first members of the COB.[4] Of the Board's 11 members:

  • 7 are African-American
  • 1 is Latino
  • at least 2 identify as LGBT
  • 6 are women, 7 are men[4]

Current officers:

  • Chair: Ashlee Davis[5]
  • First Vice Chair: Jamel Campbell-Gooch[6]
  • Second Vice Chair: Phyllis Hildreth[7]
  • Secretary: Bob Cooper[8]
Members of the Community Oversight Board[4][3]
Name Background Nominated by Notes
Bob Cooper former Attorney General of Tennessee, adjunct law professor Mayor Secretary[8]
Jamel Campbell-Gooch activist with Gideon's Army community representing economically distressed area; First Vice Chair[6]
Ashlee Davis diversity and inclusion officer for Cargill Inc. community representing economically distressed area; Chair[5]
Phyllis Hildreth vice president at American Baptist College, held criminal justice jobs in Maryland Mayor Second Vice-Chair[7]
Walter Holloway retired Metro police officer council member
Adele Lewis medical examiner, frequently giving expert testimony in criminal trials community
Danita Marsh former police officer, now working as a mediator community
Andrés Martinez policy director for Conexión Américas community representing economically distressed area
Brenda Ross property manager, neighborhood activist community representing economically distressed area
Matthew Sweeney attorney, former judge council members
Emmett Turner Nashville Police Chief, 1996-2003 community

Powers and duties

The Board has the following powers:[2]

  1. Investigate allegations of Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officer misconduct and internal affairs programs, such as the Office of Professional Accountability.
  2. Refer allegations to the MNPD Office of Professional Accountability and recommend discipline.
  3. Forward resolution reports.
  4. Powers to compel and other powers of Metro Nashville government agencies.
  5. An annual budget of no less $1,500,000, to be reviewed by the Metro Council to determine if it is sufficient.

Support staff and personnel
  • Executive Director
  • Assistant Executive Director
  • At least 3 investigators
  • At least 2 research analysts
  • At least 1 community engagement liaison
  • Legal Resource Advisor

History

The Amendment was proposed based on a petition by Community Oversight Now. The Fraternal Order of Police sued, claiming that the number of signatures on the petition was too low. However, the Davidson County Election Commission voted on August 15, 2018, to add it to the November 2018 ballot.[1]

The Metro Council received more than 150 nominations for membership, and the Council's January 22, 2019, meeting to appoint members lasted 5 hours.[4]

General Assembly pushback

During the opening weeks of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly, many Republican leaders began openly debating limiting the powers of the Board. On February 4, 2019, Representative Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced he would be introducing legislation to eliminate the diversity requirements of the board, including any requirements based on employment history, economic status, or demographics. It would also revoke the board's subpoena power. This legislation would apply to any community oversight board in the state, not just Nashville's.[9]

Text[2]

"Article 11 of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County shall be amended by adding Chapter 13 to the following new paragraph at the end thereof:

Sec. 11.1301 – Created; qualifications, term and selection of members: There is hereby created The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County Community Oversight Board, sometimes in this chapter called 'the Board,' to be operational no later than January 31, 2019. The Board shall consist of eleven (11) Members, who are residents of Davidson County and shall serve three (3) year terms without compensation. The Board members must have a demonstrated knowledge of issues pertaining to civil rights and equity, and must have experience with criminal justice and policing practices. Board members are to receive related orientation and training, including the completion of Metropolitan Nashville’s Citizen Police Academy or an equivalent training, and ongoing civil rights and equity training from entities concerned with police oversight. Ineligible persons for the Board and the supporting staff include current employees of any law enforcement agency; anyone who has served in a law enforcement capacity in the past five years; any elected official; and the spouses of the foregoing persons. Seven (7) of the Board members shall be persons who are nominated by community organizations or private petition signed by fifty (50) Davidson County residents and approved by majority vote of the Council. At least four (4) of the seven (7) members must reside in economically distressed communities. Two (2) of the members shall be persons who are nominated by Council Representatives, and then approved by majority vote of the Council. Two (2) of the members shall be persons who are nominated by the Mayor, and then approved by majority vote of the Council. Except for the initial appointees who shall serve at least a one-year (1) term, the successive Board members shall serve staggered three-year terms. The initial Board members shall develop rules for determining staggered terms for the succeeding appointees to the Board.

Section 11.1302 – Powers and duties: The Board shall have the following powers and duties, and shall by majority approval adopt procedures for their implementation: 1. The Board shall have the power to investigate allegations that MNPD officers have committed misconduct against members of the public, as well as issue policy advisory and resolution reports assessing allegations of misconduct by MNPD, recommendations to agencies involved in public safety and the administration of justice, and have the option of establishing a monitoring program that provides an ongoing review or audit of the complaint process administered by the MNPD Office of Professional Accountability ('OPA') or equivalent internal affairs program in MNPD. 2. Where the Board finds a basis to believe that an officer has committed misconduct in violation of MNPD policy, the Board may refer such matter to the MNPD OPA and recommend that discipline be given within the parameters of civil service rules and regulations of article 12 of this Charter. MNPD shall be required to respond to the Board’s disciplinary recommendations in writing. 3. The Board has the option of forwarding resolution reports that produce factual findings of criminal misconduct and civil rights violations to the District Attorney, the Grand Jury, or the United States Attorney. 4. The Board shall have all powers, including the power to compel, afforded to other metropolitan government agencies, Boards, and entities identified in Section 18.10 of the metropolitan government Charter. 5. The Board shall submit to the mayor, through the director of finance, an annual budget request of no less than $1,500,000.00 beginning and after the fiscal year 2019–2020, and it shall be the duty of the council to determine if this amount is sufficient for the operation of the Board and staff.

Sec. 11.1303 – Support Staff and Personnel: No later than March 29, 2011 and through a special appropriation lasting through the end of the fiscal year, the Board shall be fully operational and staffed by sufficient members of personnel in order to promptly, competently, and thoroughly carry out its duties. The salaries and benefits of the following support staff and personnel shall be as fixed in the pay plan adopted pursuant to article 12 of this Charter: Executive Director, Assistant Executive Director, a minimum of three investigators to investigate alleged misconduct and factual matters relevant to the development of policy advisory and resolution reports, a minimum of two research analysts, a minimum of one community engagement liaison to receive and solicit input from community members, and a legal resource advisor."

gollark: Or it went the other way round I guess.
gollark: It's not like the various very important technological advancements of the past few hundred years just came from nowhere; there were probably societal things allowing them to occur.
gollark: And unicast, I mean. Just not broadcast.
gollark: IPv6 has *only* multicast.
gollark: I got my multicast chat program to finally work some months ago.

See also
  • Community Oversight Now

References
  1. "Nashville police oversight board referendum cleared for November ballot; legal challenge by FOP awaits". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  2. "Nashville Amendments 2018-11-06" (PDF). Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. Hightower, Morgan (January 23, 2019). "Council selects members for Community Oversight Board". WKRN. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  4. Gonzalez, Tony. "Nashville Selects Diverse Members For Its First Police Oversight Board". www.nashvillepublicradio.org. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  5. Jeong, Yihyun (February 12, 2019). "Ashlee Jene' Davis has been voted unanimously as the community oversight board chair for six months". @yihyun_jeong. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  6. Jeong, Yihyun (February 12, 2019). "Jamel R. Campbell-Gooch voted unanimously as first vice chair. (Emmett Turner "respectfully rejected" nomination). Campbell-Gooch is a grassroots organizer who is active in the nonprofit social activist organization Gideon's Army". @yihyun_jeong. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  7. Jeong, Yihyun (February 12, 2019). "Phyllis Hildreth has been voted unanimously as second vice chair. She is vice president for institutional advancement/strategic partnerships at American Baptist College. She previously worked as chief counsel in the Office of the Public Defender for the state of Maryland". @yihyun_jeong. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  8. Jeong, Yihyun (February 12, 2019). "Bob Cooper voted unanimously as secretary....as long as he doesn't have to take notes. He worked as legal counsel under former Gov. Phil Bredesen before serving as state attorney general from 2006 to 2014". @yihyun_jeong. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  9. Martínez-Beltrán, Sergio. "GOP Aims To Curb Nashville Police Oversight Board's Powers — And Its Diversity Rules". www.nashvillepublicradio.org. Retrieved February 13, 2019.

Further reading
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