New recruits with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) are required to participate in a “Mobile Diversity Tour” before beginning patrol duties, a program designed to introduce future officers to a range of communities across the city.
One stop on the tour includes Play Dance Bar, a Nashville nightclub known for its drag performances.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell highlighted trainees’ recent visit to the drag bar in a social media post as part of Pride Month.
Serving all of Nashville means knowing all of our communities. MNPD recruits do a diversity tour before they ever hit the streets and today, we’re joining them at Play Dance Bar. Mayor O’Connell is committed to a city for everyone – and that starts by bringing people together.
— Mayor Freddie O’Connell (@mayor.nashville.gov) 2026-06-25T22:16:56.472Z
“Serving all of Nashville means knowing all of our communities. Metro Nashville Police recruits do a diversity tour before they ever hit the streets and today, we’re joining them at [Play Dance Bar]. Mayor O’Connell is committed to a city for everyone — and that starts by bringing people together,” the mayor’s post said.
The video featured LGBTQ Liaison Officer Darci Stechman, who said, “Nashville is very diverse, so we’re exposing the trainees to these different communities and letting them learn a little bit more about the people that they may interact with within the community.”
Stechman added that she directed the trainees visiting the drag bar to “make sure you have questions because otherwise it’s going to be awkward, you’re just going to be staring at one another for an hour and a half.”
Play Dance Bar advertises itself as “Nashville’s Place to Party,” featuring drag performances throughout the week.
MNPD’s outreach to the LGBTQ community is coordinated by its LGBTQ Liaison Officer, who works within the support services bureau.
According to MNPD, the liaison works closely with the LGBTQ community on issues and events, attends meetings involving LGBTQ and other minority communities, and responds to inquiries related to the department’s Safe Place program.
MNPD adopted the Safe Place program in early 2019. The initiative, originally created by the Seattle Police Department, was developed to encourage victims of anti-LGBTQ crimes and school bullying to report incidents by “increasing public trust in law enforcement.”
The program was later expanded to encourage reporting of all bias crimes.
Businesses and schools participating in the program display Safe Place decals after committing to the program’s principles.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Nashville Police” by MNPD.
