Mostly white, Nashville police aim to diversify force

NASHVILLE — Nashville police recruits are asked to read aloud statements by civil rights protesters while they sit at a replica lunch counter.

But most of the cadets haven’t experienced the racism suffered by students who helped desegregate the city’s restaurants more than 50 years ago. That’s because they are white.

The Metro Nashville Police Department has a disproportionately high number of white officers compared to the city's population. The gulf is wider here than in Memphis; Knoxville, Tenn.; Atlanta; Austin; Denver and other comparable cities.

About 85% of Nashville’s officers were white and 12% were black in 2013, according to the most recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. At the time, the Nashville population was 56% white and 28% black. In 2016, the proportions are essentially the same.

Nashville’s predominantly white police force adds to distrust felt in minority neighborhoods, some community leaders say. While diversifying the ranks wouldn’t stop allegations of biased policing, experts say it could improve individual interactions with cops and symbolize the department’s racial sensitivity.

“Diversity is so important because it gives you a feeling of being represented, that someone can relate to you and your struggles,” said Reggie Miller, a former Nashville officer and president of the National Black Police Association Eastern Region. “It’s what we preach, but diversity isn't what we have. There’s no excuse for Nashville to be one of the least diverse police departments.”

Metro police and government officials don’t have a concerted plan to break down the department’s historic divide, though they’ve made some overtures.

Mayor Megan Barry hired a chief diversity officer in April. On Thursday, she announced a series of community talks on racial justice. Police Chief Steve Anderson has earned praise for his tolerance of Black Lives Matter protesters. He has pledged to personally review applications of minority applicants who are rejected by the department.

After Barry took office last year, one class of police recruits was 89% white; the current class started at 84% white.

“While we have fallen short in our desire to have a police force or a Metro government that fully reflects the city it serves,” Barry said, “we are also making progress on that goal.”

Symbolism and trust

Studies have shown that an officer’s race doesn’t tend to correlate with the most fraught policing decisions: when to pull someone over, when to search someone, when to make an arrest, said Ronald Weitzer, a sociology professor at George Washington University.

“It’s really the color of the uniform more than the color of their skin, or their racial or ethnic background, that shapes how they do their job,” said Weitzer.

A diverse force, though, can sway perceptions and community reactions. In Ferguson, Mo., where nearly every officer was white in a majority black town, violence erupted after Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by police.

Nashville hasn’t recently seen racial tensions explode after a high-profile incident. Some attribute the department’s extensive training on de-escalation techniques and historic injustices.

“Our training is top-notch,” Miller said. “That’s probably why we don’t have the shootings. We’re progressive when it comes to that, but we’re not as progressive when it comes to diversity.”

In Nashville, African-American residents have been asking for more minority hiring in the police force, said Rev. Enoch Fuzz of the First Corinthian Baptist Church. But the disparity extends well beyond the police department, he said.

“Diversity seems to build trust,” Fuzz said, although “just because a policeman is black, it doesn’t mean that it’s a benefit to the community. We have to have people with integrity, professionalism, and who honor the citizens they serve.”

Missed opportunities

Some community leaders say Nashville isn’t doing enough to diversify the police department. At a recent Muslim festival, the department missed an opportunity to host a recruiting booth, said Mohamed-Shukri Hassan, an immigrant community rights advocate.

“There are communities that have been living here for 10 years, but they don’t have a police officer,” Hassan said. “I do believe the chief wants it, but it’s way overdue.”

About two years ago police officials didn't back a proposal for a minority recruiting road trip, said Miller, who’s also the president of the National Black Police Association’s Nashville chapter. A group of officers were willing to pay for their own hotel rooms and food, but asked for the time off.

“It was not in the budget,” Miller said he was told.

Don Aaron, spokesman for Metro Nashville Police Department, disputes that account. He said the human resources manager asked for a detailed proposal about the road trip, but never received one.

Making an effort

Department leaders have tried to bring in minority recruits, with little effect. Recruiters attend historically black colleges and universities’ career days. The recruitment team set up a booth at the recent Nashville Pride Festival, said Sgt. Suzanne Stephens, with the department.

“I believe the efforts have absolutely been there,” she said. “Someone has to have an interest in becoming a police officer as well.”

African Americans may be more hesitant to apply for police jobs since the Ferguson unrest in 2014, said Weitzer, the sociologist, because of the way policing is portrayed in the national culture.

That’s a typical refrain, Miller said.

“What we hear is, ‘they have to apply,’ " Miller said. "But you have to go and seek them.”

Chief Anderson lobbied to abolish a Tennessee law that required police officers to be American citizens. In a compromise, military veterans with an honorable discharge can join police departments, as long as they worked toward obtaining citizenship. None have joined the force yet.

“The idea was to have persons of other cultures on the police department,” said Anderson, and “be more representative, and to gain the trust and confidence of people who in their native country may not trust the police at all.”

Cities seeing success

In Atlanta, where the force’s non-white officers mirror the greater population at about 64%, officials have recruited in the local area, said Elizabeth Espy, the Atlanta Police Department’s director of public affairs. Their African-American chief was born and raised in the city.

"Many officers grew up here, admiring the police or wanting to serve the community they live in,” she said. “I think when you recruit locally, you tend to get the same demographics of the area."

The Orlando Police Department, which is disproportionately white, is making a strong push to recruit minority candidates, Sgt. Wanda Miglio said. Besides attending college and community events, the department is publishing recruiting ads in African American-focused Onyx Magazine, National Minority Update, and Come Out with Pride publications. They also rolled out a series of 25 radio commercials by the chief.

Such an organized effort might be in store for Nashville. The city government is planning to hire a firm that would develop a minority recruiting strategy, said Chief Diversity Officer Michelle Hernandez-Lane.

Follow Mike Reicher and Dave Boucher on Twitter: @mreicher and @Dave_Boucher1