Members of Nashville’s Community Oversight Board (COB) have scheduled a special meeting for Wednesday where they plan to call upon Metro Nashville Police (MNPD) to document all uses of “soft empty-hand control” techniques.
This, according to Wednesday’s COB meeting agenda.
The MNPD manual defines “soft empty-hand control” as using physical strength to control people who resist arrest. The manual goes on to say that these techniques include pain compliance pressure points, controlled takedowns, joint manipulation, or simply grabbing a subject.
COB members said they want the MNPD to provide the number of uses of force incidents where soft empty-hand control is the highest force used and there is no allegation of injury.
“Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) does not require that officers submit a written report documenting all instances where physical force is used to control a resistant subject,” according to a draft report that COB members plan to discuss Wednesday.
“Currently, when soft empty-hand control tactics are used to take a resistant subject into custody, a written report is only required if an injury occurs. Fifty-one percent of the 50 largest police departments in the United States require that these incidents are reported. These incidents, where soft empty-hand control is the highest force used, comprise one-third of all uses of force for some departments.”
According to the draft report, the COB recommends that MNPD officers using soft empty-hand control techniques complete a Form 108-S to collect information about soft empty-hand control when the force does not rise to the current reporting level.
Organizers have scheduled the special COB special meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday, at the Howard Office Building at 700 Second Avenue South, at the Sonny West Conference Center in Nashville.
According to Wednesday’s agenda sheet, COB Executive Director Jill Fitcheard will also present complaints against six MNPD officers. The agenda sheet did not specify the nature of those complaints.
Nashville Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) members have long said they have serious constitutional concerns about the COB. FOP members have even said the board is “set up for some means of retaliation and retribution for a problem that doesn’t exist.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
This COB put in place by John Cooper is out of control with them wanting to run the Police Department. We have a very competent Chief and he should be able to run his Department without this type of interference.
If this radical COB has its way it will eventually have officer’s ask people “may I arrest you today for putting other’s at risk”. If some would only comply with these officer’s instead of wanting to resist there’d be no issues. At the end of the day we expect police officer’s take control of situations to keep the majority who obey’s the laws safe.
Lenin would be proud. Neo-Marxist tactics to cause chaos and obstruct the rule of law is the sole reason for the COB. Sean Parker, our very own Metro Council progressive socialist, is delighted and can’t wait until Nashville is just like Chicago.
I recommend the discriminate application of bill clubs.
How about these members of the Community Oversight Board ride with the cops for a month or so and show the cops how to do it. Just another case of liberals who believe in “do as I say, not as I do!”
If Tennesseans (remember Republicans hold a SUPER majority in both houses of the Legislature AND the Governor’s seat) don’t stop the adoption of liberal ideologies in our big cities right now, the State will become one big outhouse!
The death of Nashville begins.
Nashville has been in decaying death for sometime now. Under Mayor John Cooper he has made it terminal.
The tools on the COB would rather police provide a cold beer and pulled pork sandwich to each and every perp, and perhaps a movie, rather than removing these dangerous people from the streets. Maybe we can incarcerate them in the homes of these tools.You know, for a little perspective.
When anyone wants or demands you change your policy and do it differently, then they should show you how it’s supposed to be the done.