Community Review Board ‘can’t function properly’ until memorandum of understanding is established with MNPD
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The newly formed Nashville Community Review Board (CRB), tasked with holding police accountable, is on hold until a memorandum of understanding is established between the group and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
The CRB was formed after a state law passed last session banning Community Oversight Boards (COB), which Nashville voters chose to establish in 2019. As a result, COBs across the state were stripped of their investigative powers regarding citizens’ complaints about alleged police misconduct. Now, the CRB, which replaced the COB, can only review complaints after the MNPD’s Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) investigates and closes the case.
However, the CRB and MNPD have yet to establish a memorandum of understanding, which would lay out what documents, reports, body camera video, and other materials the board is allowed to access under the new law.
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“We can’t really function properly without an MOU agreement, so it’s imperative that we have that,” CRB Executive Director Jill Fitcheard said during a recent CRB meeting.
Until the MOU agreement is formed, the CRB will forward any citizen complaint they receive to the MNPD’s OPA unit to investigate. From October 2023 to November 2023, they had forwarded five citizens’ complaints to Metro’s OPA unit, according to the CRB.
Fitcheard told CRB members the change from the COB to CRB is confusing for the public.
“It is going to be different,” Fitcheard said. “There is a fundamental lack of understanding of what this board is supposed to do now.”
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CRB chair, Alisha Haddock, said during a recent board meeting Police Chief John Drake expressed his intention to meet with the CRB, but “it appears to be on his own time,” Haddock said.
The CRB is taxpayer funded. The board received more than $2.15 million for its budget for fiscal year 2023-24. Paid CRB staff receive a combined $935,000 in annual salaries, while the majority of the board, with the exception of the executive director, is not paid.
News 2 requested more details from Fitcheard, but did not receive a response.
We also reached out to the MNPD’s public affairs officers for comment and was sent the following response:
The statute the Tennessee legislature passed last session sets out the parameters for CRBs. See this link and this link.
As you know, MNPD policy for the Office of Professional Accountability (OPA) provides that active investigations should be completed within 45 calendar days from the date the employee has received formal notification that they have become the subject of an internal investigation. Investigations may exceed 45 days (most do not) with the approval of the Chief of Police or his designee.
Through a call between Office of Professional Accountability Director Kathy Morante and Community Review Board Executive Director Jill Fitcheard, OPA agreed to provide the CRB with the results, including detailed investigative summaries for those cases that include such, for complaints the CRB forwards to the MNPD so that they will know the outcome of the investigation. Conversations between OPA and the CRB have been cordial.
Since December 27, 2023, the CRB has forwarded to OPA 16 complaints that were made with the CRB. Nine of the 16 complaints have been closed at present. Results/Summaries of the OPA work have been sent to the CRB for six of those complaints. Results/summaries pertaining to the other three that have been closed are under review and will be forwarded to the CRB forthwith.
If the CRB desires any associated materials (recordings of any interviews, body worn camera footage, etc.) they would file a request through the MNPD’s Records Division, so that the request goes through the proper procedure for compliance, redaction, tracking, etc. Records will prioritize requests from the CRB when possible.
As of July 1 of last year, Tennessee code section 38-8-312 was deleted in its entirety and replaced with the provisions of the new statute referenced above. Former code section 38-8-312 (e) was the basis for the MNPD providing non-public records to the former COB. Since that code section does not exist, counsel has advised the MNPD is not authorized to share non-public records with the CRB.
As was the case prior to the law change, the MNPD relies, when necessary, on input from the Metropolitan Department of Law and the District Attorney’s Office in determining what records can be released. We have been advised that an MOU cannot be created for the purpose of providing access to records that are confidential/non-public under state law. The MNPD will continue to be fully compliant with the CRB state law referenced above.
The Metropolitan Legal Department may be able to help answer any other questions.
Metro Nashville Police Department
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