RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-408

A resolution requesting the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department to track misdemeanor citations and civil citations for marijuana possession by race, gender and age, and to prepare a report to the Metropolitan County Council, and requesting the related assistance of the District Attorney General of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County and the Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk.

WHEREAS, the Metropolitan County Council recently enacted Ordinance No. BL2016-378 which provides the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) with the discretion to issue civil citations to individuals in possession of one-half (½) ounce of marijuana or less; and

WHEREAS, the MNPD still retains the discretion to arrest individuals in possession of one-half ounce of marijuana or less under state law; and

WHEREAS, to further ensure the appropriate application of drug enforcement policy, it is in the interests of the citizens of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County to have access to statistics with regard to the application of BL2016-378.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That the Metropolitan County Council hereby goes on record as requesting that the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) collect data regarding individuals who are issued a civil citation under Metropolitan Code section 11.32.030 and individuals who are charged or arrested pursuant to state law for possession of one-half (½) ounce of marijuana or less. The Council further requests that this data be categorized by race, gender and age.

Section 2. That the MNPD is further requested to submit an initial report of this data to the Metro Council for the six (6) month period of January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017, with such report to be submitted no later than August 15, 2017. Thereafter, the Metro Council requests a recurring full annual report of this data for the preceding calendar year, beginning in 2018 and continuing until the end of the current Metro Council term in 2019, to be submitted no later than May 15th of each such year. The first report should encompass all data from calendar year 2017 and be submitted to the Metro Council no later than May 15, 2018.

Section 3. That the Metro Council hereby further requests that the Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk prepare a civil citation form for all Metro offenses found in the Metropolitan Code, including Section 11.32.030, and include therein a space to identify the race and gender of the individual receiving the citation.

Section 4. That the Metro Council further requests that the Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk make available to the MNPD in a timely fashion all data collected from the above-described civil citation form for use in the report to be submitted to the Council.

Section 5. That the Metro Council further requests that the District Attorney General of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County obtain race and gender information concerning any state charges filed by MNPD in this context from the State Office of Criminal Justice Programs, and to provide a summary of this information to the MNPD in a timely fashion for use in the report to be submitted to the Council.

Section 6. The Metropolitan Clerk is directed to send a copy of this resolution to Police Chief Steve Anderson, Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk Richard R. Rooker, and District Attorney Glenn Funk.

Section 7. This resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Bob Mendes, Dave Rosenberg, Mina Johnson