NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville residents can take a survey to voice their priorities for Metro’s next chief of police. The new hire is expected to be announced in October.
Mayor John Cooper’s Office said Tuesday that they’ve created a “roadmap” for a nationwide search after Police Chief Steve Anderson announced his retirement in June.
The mayor’s office says it’s seeking county-wide engagement from the community. To fill out the survey, visit the HubNashville website. If you do not have internet access, you can take the survey by calling 311.
The survey includes the following questions:
- “What are the three (3) most important qualities or skills you would like to see in Nashville’s next police chief?”
- “What would you like to see the next chief accomplish immediately? Over the next 2-3 years?”
- “What are the most important public safety needs in your neighborhood?”
- “Please share the suggestions you have for improving police services.”
- “What is your home zip code?”
Cooper’s office also says it will reach out to neighborhood associations to “better understand the safety needs and priorities in their neighborhoods.” They will also hold engagement sessions with community groups and police officers.
Metro said it will bring in Gary Peterson, President and CEO of Public Sector Search and Consulting, to help with the process. They said Peterson, who specializes in police executive searches, has conducted searches in more than 25 cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Kansas City, and Sacramento.
The job will be posted from mid-August to mid-September. Later that month, candidates will meet with a review committee to narrow down the top finalists for interviews.
In October, those finalists will visit Nashville and meet with Cooper and the interview panel. After that, Cooper will announce the city’s new police chief.
But in this time of protests for racial justice, Clemmie Greenlee, with the group Nashville Peacemakers, says she wants to know which community groups will get input.
"I just wish I would have seen some specific names mentioned, other than just saying some 'community organizations, residents' — I need that kind of defined. That makes me a little nervous," Greenlee said.
Greenlee also wonders why a Nashville firm can’t help find those police chief candidates.
"These other people haven’t lived around us, they don’t sit with us, they don’t break bread with us, so why are you bringing in all these different people when it's us who should pick and have a say so, on who should be our next chief of police?" Greenlee said.
Tuesday evening, the Mayor's office issued an additional statement about the search process, saying about the consulting firm:
[They] will help us find innovative, reform-minded police executives nationwide and encourage them to apply for the Nashville position through Metro HR. Metro HR will run this selection process as it has done in the past, working with a diverse review committee and an interview panel. The use of a public sector executive recruitment consultant is a standard practice among cities performing national searches of this type.
As you know, Nashville is beginning the search process with an innovative countywide survey, which will provide an unprecedented level of community input into the search process itself. We have already communicated with every member of the Metro Council and are in the process of reaching out to 569 community and business groups across Davidson County. Later this week, we will begin reaching out to a robust list of community and neighborhood associations identified by Council to solicit their valuable input as well.
Mayor Cooper is committed to engaging a broad range of voices from across the county to weigh in on this important issue.
The group Nashville People's Budget Coalition also issued a statement following the announcement from the Mayor's office:
There is not enough progressive measures that will rectify nor (sic) mitigate the harmful practices of the criminal justice system in our city. We've observed other cities that engaged in the same solution. As a result, marginalized communities still bare the burdens of state sanctioned violence at an alarming rate. Reforming the police like this roadmap will not save our communities.
