Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday he is calling on all law enforcement agencies across the state to review and update their policies over the next 60 days.
Lee announced "step one" of a joint effort to address use of force and duty to intervene policies across all agencies in the state, as well as plans to update and increase statewide training and information sharing.
“The intent of this partnership is the desire to ensure law enforcement are consistently reflecting the values of the communities they serve,” said Gov. Lee. “Tragic, preventable events across the nation have challenged us all to confront the difference between law enforcement and police brutality and also challenged us to examine troubling, inconsistent citizen experiences with law enforcement. I am proud of our law enforcement agencies for spearheading efforts to ensure Tennesseans’ rights, dignity and humanity be at the forefront of policing.”
Lee has directed agencies to review and improve use of force policies and duty to intervene policies over the next 60 days to ensure choke holds are not used as a restraining technique. In many cities, chokehold techniques are already banned, but leaders said they wanted to reaffirm and reinforce these bans to ensure they are not used by agencies in the state.
It also requires agencies to review and update policies that require officers to act to prevent or stop any act, even by officers, that violates a law or policy.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch spoke Thursday, saying maintaining accountability and integrity within the law enforcement system is an imperative for upholding the law.
The Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy will also now require enhanced curriculum in the training of state, county and local law enforcement officials. The new training requirements increase training by 88 hours, and include enhanced courses on de-escalation, duty to intervene, public assembly interaction, and emphasizing community policing by building relationships with positive interactions.
“We look forward to working with law enforcement partners to continue to provide highly professional, world-class training through our Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy,” said Commissioner Hodgen Mainda. “Training enhancements will ensure our force is one of the best in the nation.”
The news comes in the wake of the death of George Floyd and other Black men and women while in the custody of law enforcement, which led to widespread protests and calls for new legislation on police reform, including eliminating racial bias and changing the way officers threaten the use of physical and deadly force.