After a year of uncertainty, Nashville’s council rejects ‘Fusus’ police surveillance tool

After nearly a year of debate, Nashville’s Metro Council has officially rejected Fusus, a police surveillance technology.

The rejection comes after significant pushback from community groups, and in direct opposition to the wishes of Mayor Freddie O’Connell.

The legislation would have contracted with Fusus for $774,900 over the course of five years. If approved, the Metro Nashville Police Department would have had access to video footage from private business owners who had opted into the program.

The technology has actually been in use in Nashville for the past two years, with Fusus integrating footage from public and private cameras into a network for MNPD.

But the original contract never made it to the council floor, even though the body is supposed to review surveillance technology. When the contract value was raised at the start of 2024, it did go before the council and raised controversy.

After much opposition during the council’s public comment periods, the legislation was deferred in February while Metro renegotiated with Fusus, and the current usage of the technology was put on hold.

When the legislation reappeared this fall, the controversy persisted. A public hearing featured dozens of community members, primarily speaking in opposition. In response, the mayor’s office put forth an amended proposal this week that banned the use of facial recognition technology, and offered an option to end the contract in the case of misuse.

Still, the discord continued. Those in support argued that the technology is a tool that would help police do their jobs effectively.

“It’s not a tracking technology,” District 27 Councilmember Bob Nash said on Tuesday. “All we’re doing with this software, this technology, is sending a ‘little virtual man’ down a wire to go grab the video, and bring it back to the department … it is completely precision policing.”

Those in opposition were concerned that it could be used to target vulnerable communities, particularly under the incoming Trump administration.

One of those concerned was At-Large Councilmember Olivia Hill, who is transgender.

“If you look at it on the outside, it sounds very intuitive — the cameras are already there. You’re already going to be filmed and it’s only going to be used to catch criminals and bad guys,” Hill said. “I stand before you as one of those criminals. I am illegally dressed in women’s clothes and drag. And if some police officer has a problem with the trans community … I will be arrested. And because I’ll be arrested for impersonating a woman, I’ll be put in jail with men. And that terrifies the heck out of me.”

The day before the vote, Mayor Freddie O’Connell asked the council to approve the proposal, while dozens of local organizations urged the council to reject it — and in the end that’s what the council did. The contract required 21 votes to pass, but only received 20. There were 18 members voting against, with two absent.

The mayor released a statement noting his disappointment.

“Not only will Metro Police not get a helpful tool, but they will also lose existing Fusus tools that they have been using to dispatch officers to residents in need and identify officers’ locations,” O’Connell wrote. “Passage of this legislation would have allowed Metro Police to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively and keep Nashvillians — particularly those in vulnerable communities — safe.”

The rejection is another example of this council showing more scrutiny over police funding. Last year they hesitated over funding for school resource officers and rejected $17 million request for new Tasers.