Use of force incidents by Metro Nashville police have increased in the last two years, while the department is spending almost $16 million for new police tasers.
1. Last year, Metro Council rejected the department’s request for almost $25 million for new tasers. But this time they voted to spend the $16 million for new tasers. Tell us more.
A: Back in January 2022, Metro Council agreed to spend $3 million of city funds on police tasers. The department originally asked for $6 million to come from pandemic relief money.
Then almost two years later in December 2023, police asked for almost $25 million for a new contract for the latest technology, the TASER 10, for the next ten years and Metro Council said no.
So this spring again, PD asked to increase its existing $6.5 million contract with Axon Enterprises to almost $16 million so it could buy 1,400 new 10 models of tasers. Metro Council agreed
Councilmember Porterfield, the head of the Budget and Finance Committee, said in 2023 there were several reasons they rejected the $25 million request —
the high-dollar amount, the tight timeline to get it done, questions around safety — and, what she called, a “progressive wave.”
She wanted to defer to funding bill this time around but a majority of the council supported it.
2. This is coming as police use of force incidents have increased in the last two years. How much has it increased?
A: Use of force can be anything that police use in their physical altercations with civilians — anything from a gun, down to their hands or feet, and of course, tasers.
The police’s use-of-force data that it reports shows that 2023 had the highest number of use-of-force incidents in 5 years – 444 incidents — more than twice as many as in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, when there were 196 and 205 incidents. 2022 was also high at 305 incidents. Even back in 2019 before the pandemic, there were 292 incidents compared to the 444 in 2023.
Tasers accounted for about 11% of the applications of force — fewer than the incidents of grappling or number of takedowns — but far more than things like using a firearm or a canine, baton or tear gas or chemical spray.
Approved this spring, police are now required to make quarterly reports on use-of-force and give many more details than they currently give publicly.
The reports will give more specific details about the individuals who were subjected to use of force and whether the officer was within police policy. Specific ages for minors, instead of an age group, will be given, how many taser discharges were used in an incident, and more.
The majority of use-of-force incidents in the 5 years reported were because people were resisting arrest.
58% of people subjected to use-of-force are black, 40% are white, so the new reporting requirements will have additional details about each incident
We know how many people were injured but the data doesn’t say their age or race or gender so the reports will get specific.