CRB researchers show racial disparities in MNPD use-of-force data; publish two-part 2025 reporting plan
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Summary
NCRB researchers presented their annual use-of-force analysis showing Black residents are overrepresented as subjects of force and outlined a two-part 2025 reporting plan: a public annual review and a technical companion with multivariate analysis.
Research analysts from the Community Review Board presented findings from their annual use-of-force work to the board, warning that racial disparities in force remain pronounced and describing a two-part plan to improve public transparency and technical analysis.
"The purpose of our annual use of force report is to provide clear and accessible data on how, when, and where use of force is used by MNPD," analyst Travis Stratton told the board, summarizing the project's goal of identifying trends and disparities.
Key findings presented by the research team included an overall increase in reported use-of-force incidents driven in part by fuller reporting, and stark racial disparities: Black residents represented roughly 60% of use-of-force subjects while accounting for an estimated 27% of Nashville's population, according to the presentation. Analysts also reported that soft empty-hand control became the most frequently reported category after full reporting began in 2022, and that firearm displays and other force types were used disproportionately against Black residents.
The team said young people and school encounters showed especially severe disparities: Black youth were subjected to force far more often than white youth, and nearly all school-related force incidents recorded by the CRB analysts involved Black students. The analysts recommended better reporting protocols for school-resource-officer incidents and further study to determine causes.
Analyst Ansley Potter highlighted recent progress: Metro Council passed an ordinance requiring MNPD to provide "response to resistance" reports quarterly to the council, and MNPD updated public dashboard fields to distinguish firearm displays, taser displays, and whether soft-empty-hand events resulted in injury. The board asked for the slide deck and data links; the analysts agreed to circulate slides and aim to publish the full technical report in spring 2026.
What's next: The CRB will release a public annual review with community-facing findings and a more detailed technical companion that will include multivariate models to test which factors independently predict higher levels of force.
