Commissioner Johnson urges caution on proposed surveillance expansion, warns of disproportionate impacts

Commissioner Johnson told the Metro Human Relations Commission she is urging careful review of a proposed expansion of surveillance in downtown and other areas that is scheduled for a city-council hearing. She said the impacts would fall unequally across communities and urged officials to consider how the system might be used and who would be targeted.

"It is increasingly likely that it will make many in our community ... more prone to targeted surveillance, targeted policing," Johnson said, and added, "Safety has to be a safety that includes all of us and doesn't leave some of us with an additional bull's eye or target on our back." She asked commissioners and the public to consider the potential for disproportionate harms before the council votes on any expansion.

Johnson also told the commission she believes the Department of Homeland Security has removed protections against surveillance based on sexual orientation and gender identity from some of its guidance, a point she used to underline her concerns about unequal application of surveillance systems. She did not cite a specific DHS document during the meeting; her remarks were framed as a cautionary appeal to the council and to community members ahead of the hearing.

The comments followed an announcement from an executive producer for City Cast Nashville about a podcast episode discussing recent state legislative activity affecting LGBTQIA+ communities; the meeting record links the surveillance discussion to broader local and state policy debates about public safety and civil‑rights protections. No formal action or vote on surveillance was taken by the commission at the meeting; Johnson urged public comment and thoughtful deliberation at the upcoming council hearing.