NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Community Review Board (CRB) unanimously approved a zero-tolerance sexual misconduct policy for the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Monday.
A press release from the CRB said the policy fulfills a promise from Nashville's previous mayor John Cooper. Within the first four pages, the policy proposal noted the police department has taken steps in the right direction, but "they do not meet the full complexity of the issue."
The release added the policy is meant to protect both MNPD members and the larger Nashville community by outlining specific prohibited behaviors, establishing clear reporting procedures and more.
"I think this Zero-Tolerance Sexual Misconduct policy is one of the bigger things we will tackle this year," CRB Chair Alisha Haddock said in the release. "We need to take a pause as a community and really think about what this policy will do for the citizens and for the employees of MNPD. It will change lives. It will change experiences."
The police department has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct within the past few years, including a harassment suit that resulted in a $300,000 settlement. In the suit, a former Metro Nashville officer alleged she had experienced years of sexual harassment at the hands of her male colleagues.
The alleged harassment began with one of her field training officers looking through her phone for "naughty pictures." Over the next several years, the former officer said many of her instructors and fellow officers would make inappropriate comments about her body and try to get her to meet up with them for "personal favors."
The lawsuit also detailed how the former officer was reportedly warned on multiple occasions that reporting the sexual harassment "would only cause her problems." When she did make a report, the woman said she faced retaliation.
Her lawsuit preceded more than three dozen allegations of sexual harassment within the police department, which came to light in Aug. 2020 after an advocacy group called Silent No Longer presented the misconduct claims.
Former Nashville Mayor John Cooper publicly called for an investigation after the claims were brought to light, leading him to include in a 2020 report more than 10 "action items" for MNPD to complete to achieve "a workplace where sexual harassment and assault is not tolerated."
However, the CRB said in its new policy proposal MNPD has yet to "adopt a 'zero-tolerance' policy around sexual assault and sexual harassment."
In a statement after a jury ruled against the police department in the former officer's lawsuit, the Metro Department of Law said, "The MNPD does not tolerate sexual harassment in any form, and encourages employees, through training as well as flyers posted throughout the department, to report any issues.”
Another issue arose earlier this year after an officer began creating OnlyFans content while on duty and in uniform. According to officials, the officer could be seen from the chest down in an OnlyFans skit where he groped the exposed breast of a female driver.
Metro Police Chief John Drake fired the officer, who was a three-year veteran of the force, on May 9, but asked for an investigation into the incident to continue, resulting in the officer's indictment on two counts of felony official misconduct.
With the new policy proposed by the CRB, the board said it could protect the city from future "costly payouts and legal expenses." The zero-tolerance policy outlines enhanced mandatory trainings and screening procedures for the MNPD's new hires.
Required topics that would be covered by those trainings include predator behavior and common conduct of sexual offenders, sexual harassment in the workplace, bystander intervention strategies, confidentiality protections for witnesses and bias trainings. The policy proposal added that trainings would cover agreements with advocacy organizations and other agencies.
Training would also cover topics with respect to vulnerable populations, including the unhoused and the LGBTQ+ communities, and all personnel would also go through refresher courses.
With respect to recruitment, the policy proposal suggests asking all potential MNPD candidates if they had ever engaged in, or were investigated for, sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence or other offenses. Lateral candidates from other law enforcement agencies would need to provide all disciplinary records from law enforcement agencies that they are transferring from. Background checks would also be performed on both new and lateral hires.
The CRB noted that having a policy that outlines a message that inappropriate behavior will no longer be tolerated is important as the police department pushes to increase its percentage of female officers. Nearly three years ago, MNPD pledged to recruit 30% more female officers by 2030.
"I think about young women sitting in Metro Public Schools, who are thinking about becoming a police officer," CRB member Mark Wynn said in the press release. "Do they want to come into a welcoming workplace or a hostile workplace?"
The policy proposal submits that End Violence Against Women International's definition of police sexual misconduct should be the definition to be used by the MNPD. The organization defines sexual misconduct as "sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery, and any inappropriate or unwanted sexual behavior committed against a member of the community or fellow employee by agency personnel."
Any sexual act committed while off-duty but involving agency or government equipment, such as weapons, vehicles or databases, would also be considered sexual misconduct under the definition. In addition, behavior that takes advantage of their position of authority and power to commit a sexual act, such as threats of force or ticketing, falls under the definition.
The CRB also included a section defining instances of retaliation in its policy proposal, which states that "retaliation is an egregious offense that shall not be tolerated." In Monday's release, the board urged the MNPD and the city's leaders to adopt the policy.
"It is now incumbent upon the Mayor, the City Council, and MNPD to swiftly implement this policy to protect our officers and the Nashville community," the release said.
Members of the public are encouraged to contact their representatives, attend Metro Council meetings and to give feedback to the CRB via email or by calling 615-880-1886.