A month after Nashville officers authorized a controversial ordinance green-lighting a six-month license plate reader pilot, the legislation is receiving renewed scrutiny.
A trio of amendments proposed by At-large Council member Bob Mendes are actually on the heart of continued debate about how town is allowed to make use of the license plate reader knowledge, significantly associated to immigration enforcement and police accountability.
Mendes notched his first victory Tuesday night time because the Metro Council unanimously handed an ordinance giving the Metro Group Oversight Board the identical LPR knowledge entry because the Public Defender’s Workplace and the District Legal professional’s Workplace for audits.
However the paths ahead for Mendes’ different two modification payments are extra sophisticated. Each of the payments — one addressing LPR knowledge entry by federal immigration officers and one other defining “personally identifiable info” — will come earlier than the council once more in April.
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Metro Council’s authorized workers stated one proposed modification barring Metro from voluntarily sharing LPR knowledge to help with federal immigration enforcement would violate state legislation.
That invoice, Mendes stated, seeks to codify a assertion beforehand issued by Metro Police Chief John Drake and Division of Transportation Director Diana Alarcon that “LPR info will NOT be shared with ICE for any sort of immigration enforcement.”
Drake and Alarcon issued the assertion to council members the day earlier than the ultimate vote, which handed by a slim margin. The assertion drew quick scrutiny from a number of council members who questioned its validity within the occasion of a federal subpoena.
Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron acknowledged earlier than the LPR ordinance’s passage that the police division would honor subpoenas from federal immigration officers for LPR info.
Particular Counsel and Director of the Metro Council Workplace Margaret Darby stated at a March 1 assembly the present language of the invoice would violate a state legislation prohibiting native authorities entities from adopting “sanctuary insurance policies” that restrict native officers’ capability to cooperate with federal officers for immigration enforcement functions.
This state legislation applies to native governing our bodies like Metro Council in addition to native authorities officers and workers, Darby stated.
If the laws was enacted as-is, authorized workers wrote in its evaluation of the invoice, Metro could be ineligible for grant contracts with the state’s division of financial and group growth till it was repealed. Its passage might additionally expose Metro to authorized motion.
It isn’t clear whether or not Drake and Alarcon’s assertion in itself might represent a violation of the state legislation.
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A second portion of the invoice would bar Metro from evaluating LPR knowledge to hotlists associated to federal immigration enforcement. Authorized counsel’s evaluation concluded this portion could be “much less doubtless” to be present in violation of state legislation, however Darby stated it nonetheless “might not match throughout the spirit of the act.”
“It may be seen as a coverage that may be a sanctuary coverage,” she stated.
Mendes stated he’s nonetheless contemplating whether or not to push ahead with the invoice as-is or hold solely the part referring to hotlists.
Mendes is working with Mayor John Cooper’s administration to succeed in an understanding on the ultimate modification, which might outline “personally identifiable info.” The administration discovered Mendes’ unique proposed definition “too broad,” probably undercutting the flexibility to “join automobiles to individuals,” he stated.
Attain reporter Cassandra Stephenson at ckstephenson@tennessean.com or at (731) 694-7261. Observe Cassandra on Twitter at @CStephenson731.