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An ordinance amending Chapter 2.44 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws pertaining to the operations of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
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WHEREAS, officers and emergency service workers who support or affiliate with hate groups and paramilitary gangs undermine the mission of their agency by allying themselves with lawbreakers and by undermining the department’s efforts to ensure equitable policing and earn community trust; and
WHEREAS, several hate groups and paramilitary gangs actively seek to enlist current and former police officers and members of the military to benefit from their social credibility and firearms expertise;
WHEREAS, when police officers join, support, or advocate for hate groups or paramilitary gangs, they raise questions not only about their own fairness, judgment, and commitment to lawful policing, but also impair the credibility and legitimacy of a department that aims to equitably serve all communities within its jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, Unlawful political violence perpetuated by members of such hate groups and militia is the only type of violence and fundamentalism in our nation’s history that has been state sanctioned and benefited from deep institutional penetration.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. Chapter 2.44 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws is hereby amended as follows:
2.44.105 - Prohibition against criminal association
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide for the prohibition of unlawful association with criminal hate groups and paramilitary gangs.
B. Definitions. For the purposes of this section the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular and words in the singular number include the plural. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
“MNPD” means the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
“Hate Group” means any person or group that advocates, incites, or supports criminal acts or criminal conspiracies or that promote violence, hatred, or discrimination toward racial, religious, ethnic, sexual, gender, or other groups or classes of individuals.
“Paramilitary Gang” means person or group that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. Government or any state, municipality, tribal, or other government by force or violence or any unlawful means including as defined under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-314.
C. Prohibitions. No person employed by MNPD shall voluntarily associate with or be members of any Hate Group or Paramilitary Gang as defined by this section. This provision shall not be construed as prohibiting the officers from engaging in political activity pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-310.
D. Policies and Procedures. MNPD shall adopt policies to enforce this section to include, but not limited to, policies and procedures for investigating allegations of prohibited association, mandatory reporting of employees known to be partaking in prohibited association, prohibit the display of patches, tattoos, symbols, and insignia of hate groups or paramilitary gangs, whether the officer is on or off duty, and explicitly prohibit posts, “likes,” jokes, memes, retweets, and other statements that advocate racism, violence, misogyny, homophobia, or other kinds of hate or discrimination.
Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its enactment, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.