Today, Mayor Freddie O’Connell provided the following update on the state’s preemption of the will of Nashvillians, mandating that Metro reconstitute the Community Oversight Board as a Civilian Review Board.
The Community Oversight Board engaged independent counsel and elected not to file suit against the state.
Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz agreed with that decision, saying, “When the legislature passed the new law requiring all police oversight boards to comply with new restrictions and requirements, we advised the COB leadership that Metro would not file a lawsuit challenging the law because we did not have legal claim we could file in good faith.”
Dietz continued, “Unlike other legislation that targeted solely Metro Nashville (Council size, Airport Authority, Fairgrounds renovations) the COB legislation affected police oversight boards in four cities: Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville. Also, the law applies prospectively to all local governments. That means the legislation did not violate the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution. We do not file lawsuits as a form of protest. We file only when we have solid grounds to do so.”
The decision whether or not to file a lawsuit belongs solely to the Director of Law.
Mayor O’Connell expects to recommend Jill Fitcheard as executive director and to retain current staffing levels. He believes that transition can be complete within the next six weeks.
“Civilian oversight is important, and I am committed to getting our Civilian Review Board up and running as quickly as possible, Mayor O’Connell said. “I have also confirmed that our human resources department will work with current employees who are in the unfortunate state-mandated position of having uncertainty surrounding how they are employed.”
In 2018, 134,135 Nashvillians voted in favor of Amendment 1, an amendment to the Metro Charter to create a Community Oversight Board. The final vote tally was 59% in favor, 41% opposed. The 113th Tennessee General Assembly made null and void that charter amendment that the voters of Nashville adopted and forced Metro to dissolve the COB and replace it with a Civilian Review Board.