The Nashville Community Review Board reviewed complaint CC2024-056 concerning allegations that an MNPD officer directed a member of the public with profanity and did not activate his body-worn camera while working a fixed traffic post after a concert. The board concluded OPA’s investigation was incomplete and recommended OPA re-interview all available witnesses.

Complainant Quilio S. White said he approached the officer for help and the officer replied, “I don't give a blank, and I'll let you fill in the blank, about you or your son. Just get out of the road.” The officer told investigators he had been “stern” and denied using profanity; the officer also said he was working a fixed post and, per the OPA review, a body-worn camera was not required for that duty.

Board reviewers noted there was no body-worn-camera footage of the encounter. The assistant director said OPA’s investigator did not interview other officers on the scene who the officer himself named during his interview (Officer Bailey McCluskey and Officer Adam Coffin). The board recommended sending the case back to OPA for further witness interviews and to clarify whether MNPD policy requires camera activation at fixed traffic posts during crowd or event operations.

Several board members emphasized the absence of video as central to the review. One member said the failure to activate a camera at a moment the public might find controversial is “the damning thing” and asked that OPA consider whether discipline is appropriate for failing to activate the camera.

Action: the board voted to adopt the assistant director’s recommendation and to forward the recommendation to the MNPD chief and mayor.

Context: the board’s discussion included reading relevant MNPD manual language that requires documentation in reports explaining absence or delay of recording if video is not available.

Ending: The board will ask OPA to reexamine witness statements and the application of MNPD camera policy to fixed posts and event-related traffic control.