NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Black Nashville Assembly held a vigil outside the Metro Courthouse Saturday afternoon. Organizers took turns at the microphone honoring the life of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Memphis man who died at the hands of police.
Among the speakers was an attorney for the family of Eric Allen, the man who was shot and killed by a Mt. Juliet police officer last November.
"We're just gathered here to both honor their lives and make a commitment to fighting police violence in Nashville," said organizer Erica Perry.
But organizers said addressing police violence starts with "divesting" from police departments.
"So, really, what preventing harm and addressing that harm and getting a little bit closer to justice looks like is reducing that budget and allocating that money into our community," said Perry.
They're calling for that funding to, instead, be put toward things like affordable housing, public education, and transportation.
Group members passed around a petition calling on Metro Police to end the use of pretextual traffic stops and end the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers, among other things.
"We talk about prosecuting police officers, but that doesn't keep us safe; that happens after the harm has been committed," Perry said.
The group is also calling to remove law enforcement from traffic stops and is asking for more transparency from Metro Police.
"I know in Nashville we have several different TITANS teams that are a part of this unit that we have very little information about," said local hip-hop artist and community organizer Mike Floss. "So, we would like more transparency around what those units are doing so we can actually have an understanding of how harmful the system really is."
Organizers said they plan to present the petition to the Metro Council.
