Following two deadly officer-involved shootings in Nashville over the last few years, some community members have called for the creation of a community oversight board to investigate alleged police misconduct.
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Now we have a better idea of what the controversial, Davidson County Community Oversight Board would look like.
Metro Election Commission members are currently in the process of determining if the proposal has the required 4,708 signatures it needs to be on the November ballot where voters would get to decided on whether it passes or fails.
But Mayor Briley and the Fraternal Order of Police both say they have concerns about the plan in its current form.
The 11 members community oversight board would consist of members who would serve three year terms without compensation. Under the amendment to Metro's Charter, those members could not be current law enforcement employees or have served in a law enforcement capacity in the past five years. Board members "must have a demonstrated knowledge of issues pertaining to civil rights and equity and have experience with criminal justice and policing matters. Board members would also be required to complete training at MNPD's Citizen Police Academy or something similar.
Seven of the board members will be people nominated by community organizations. Under the proposed ballot referendum, four of those members must reside in economically distressed communities
The Board's primary responsibility would be to investigate allegations that MNPD officers have committed misconduct against members of the public. It's unclear what kind of legal authority they would actually have though.
The Community Oversight Board would also request a budget of no less than $1.5 million a year to help pay for support staff, research analysts and a legal advisor.
"I have questions about how it would effect our budget," Mayor Briley said in an interview on Monday.
The Mayor said regardless of whether voters approve the ballot measure he will still work to have some kind of citizen oversight of Metro Police.
