MNPD officers on foot, horseback, in cars, and in the air will be keeping a close watch on Nashville’s shopping hubs beginning Friday and continuing through the Thanksgiving weekend. The department will be working closely with the management of Tanger Outlets, Nashville West shopping center, Opry Mills Mall, and Green Hills Mall to enhance public safety and deter retail theft. Anyone caught stealing from stores or breaking into vehicles will be arrested and prosecuted.
At Opry Mills Mall, officers on horseback will supplement Hermitage Precinct officers and private security staff in monitoring parking areas. Additionally,18 officers will be working to keep traffic flowing beginning this weekend through the weekend before Christmas. Motorists are advised to be patient. Those visiting Opryland Hotel, attending ICE!, or the Grand Ole Opry are asked to use the McGavock Pike exit off Briley Parkway (exit 12). Those going to the mall should exit Briley Parkway onto Opry Mills Drive (exit 11). Officers will also provide extra attention to retail areas on Lebanon Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard.
At Tanger Outlets in South Nashville, officers working through the MNPD’s Secondary Employment Unit will be supplemented by officers on bicycles, detectives from the Organized Retail Crimes Unit to combat shoplifting, and Tanger security personnel in having a visible on-site presence. Tanger will also be providing personnel to manage traffic.
At Green Hills Mall and Nashville West, School Resource Officers will supplement mounted officers and West Precinct officers in having noticeable visibility at both locations.
MNPD Aviation will be flying over the shopping hubs Friday and through the weekend looking for any suspicious activity in parking lots. Helicopter crews will immediately radio anything concerning to ground units.
MNPD Traffic Division officers, and officers working through the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) grant will be monitoring Briley Parkway in the vicinity of Opry Mills, I-24 near Tanger Outlets, and I-40 in the area of Nashville West with a primary focus on speeding and aggressive driving. Speed has been a contributing factor in more than one quarter of this year’s fatality crashes, which have claimed the lives of 104 persons thus far in 2024.
Traffic officers are also participating in THSO’s Thanksgiving Buckle Up, Tennessee campaign focusing on unbelted occupants. So far this year, more than half of fatal crashes (54) have involved persons not wearing their seat belts.
When driving this weekend, please slow down, buckle up, and keep your phone in hands-free mode.
This holiday season remember to Park Smart by locking automobile doors and securing any valuables, especially guns.