Vanderbilt Poll shows jump in support for Nashville police after Covenant School shooting, fractures over growth

A new poll from Vanderbilt University shows a significant jump in support for the Metro Nashville Police Department that researchers believe has to do with officers’ response to the Covenant School shooting.

Results of the latest survey are being released Wednesday, but the poll itself was conducted just before and after the March 27 shooting that left three students, three administrators and the assailant dead. Pollsters say 66% of respondents said they approve of the department before that date; 79% said the same afterward.

Vanderbilt professor John Geer, one of the poll’s co-directors, credited the police response. Video released by the police and replayed frequently in the days after the incident showed officers shooting and killing the assailant.

The poll also highlighted fractures between Nashvillians and state lawmakers, and over the city’s growth.

For the second year in a row, a majority of respondents said that the city is on the wrong track, with older residents and longtime residents the most likely to say so. Overall, 79% said the city’s population is growing too fast, and 47% say that growth is making day-to-day life worse.

But that didn’t translate into disapproval toward outgoing Mayor John Cooper; 59% of respondents say they approve of his performance.

“This suggests that concerns beyond the mayor’s control and likely related to concerns about growth, public education, and the increasing tension between Nashville and the state government are affecting people’s optimism about the future of our city,” said Josh Clinton, the co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll.

Nashville residents were clear that they are unhappy with the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Three out of five respondents said they don’t agree with a new law cutting the Metro Council in half, slightly more disagree with anti-LGBTQ+ measures, and four out of five are against a plan to shift control of Nashville International Airport away from the city.

Eighty-nine percent say “dealing with the state legislature” needs to be a priority for the city going forward.