# Nashville Community Oversight Board

The Community Oversight Board (COB) of Nashville, Tennessee is an independent body to review cases of alleged Metropolitan Nashville police misconduct. It appeared as Amendment 1 on the November 6, 2018 ballot in Davidson County and was approved by voters by a margin of 134,371 votes in support (58.81%) to 94,129 votes against (41.19%).

## Members

The board has 11 members: 7 nominated by community organizations or private petitions of at least 50 Davidson County residents, 2 by City Council Representatives, and 2 by the Mayor. At least 4 must come from economically distressed areas.
On January 22, 2019, the Metro Council appointed the first members of the COB. Of the Board's 11 initial members:
* 7 were Black
* 1 was Latino
* at least 2 identified as LGBT
* 6 were women, 7 were men
As of October 2022, the Board was composed of:
* 4 Black women
* 3 Black men
* 3 white men
Current officers:
* Chair: Alisha Haddock
* First Vice Chair: Joe Brown
* Second Vice Chair: Walter Holloway
* Secretary: Andrew Goddard
Members of the Community Oversight Board :
| Name | Background | Nominated by | Notes |
| Alisha Haddock | Senior Vice President of Community and Economic Development at the Housing Fund. Nonprofit professional with decades of experience serving under-resourced and under-developed communities in Nashville. | council member | Chairperson |
| Michael Milliner | 27 years of combined governmental experience as a public administrator and union leader for governments and special districts. | community | |
| Joe B. Brown | retired judge with five decades of judicial experience. | community | First Vice-Chair |
| Andrew J. Goddard | former head of the Environmental Practice Group of Bass, Berry & Sims and First Vice President of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. | Mayor | Secretary |
| Phyllis Hildreth | currently serves as Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Strategic Partnerships at American Baptist College, former Chief Counsel in the Office of the Public Defender for the State of Maryland. | Mayor | |
| Walter Holloway | retired Metro police officer with over three decades of experience. | council member | Second Vice-Chair |
| Makayla McCree | Organizing Director at Organize Tennessee, formerly worked in the office of US Congressman Jim Cooper. | community | |
| Maxine Spencer | organizer with Workers’ Dignity | community | |
| Demerrius LaShawn Whitsell | writer, producer, director, works with Southern Word | community | |
| Mark Wynn | 20+ years of experience as MNPD officer, works with the US Department of Justice | community | |
| Vacant | | community | To be filled by 11/1/22 |

## Staff

The COB is budgeted a staff of 15 employees to support the work and mission of the Board. The staff are colloquially referred to as Metro Nashville Community Oversight (MNCO). In FY22-23, MNCO was staffed at the following levels:
* (1) Executive Director
* (1) Assistant Director
* (1) Administrative Services Manager
* (1) Legal Advisor
* (5) Investigators
* (2) Research Analysts
* (1) Data and Evidence Technician
* (1) Community Liaison
* (1) Social Worker
* (1) Administrative Assistant

## History

The Amendment was proposed based on a petition by Community Oversight Now. The Fraternal Order of Police sued, claiming that the number of signatures on the petition was too low. However, the Davidson County Election Commission voted on August 15, 2018, to add it to the November 2018 ballot.
The Metro Council received more than 150 nominations for membership, and the Council's January 22, 2019, meeting to appoint members lasted 5 hours.

### General Assembly pushback

During the opening weeks of the 111th Tennessee General Assembly, many Republican leaders began openly debating limiting the powers of the Board. On February 4, 2019, Representative Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced he would be introducing legislation to eliminate the diversity requirements of the board, including any requirements based on employment history, economic status, or demographics. It would also revoke the board's subpoena power. This legislation would apply to any community oversight board in the state, not just Nashville's.