After prior pushback, Nashville police get funding for a new round of Tasers

Police tasers, and the debates they spur, returned to Nashville’s council chambers this week as members approved a $15 million contract to outfit the city’s police department with new models.

Proponents argued that, because Tuesday marked the last council meeting of the fiscal year, it was the final opportunity to authorize Metro Nashville Police Department to purchase the new TASER 10 model, rather than the TASER 7s they currently use. MNPD was outfitted with 1,400 models of the TASER 7 in 2022.

“There’s about a million dollars that will be spent on 7s unless we approve this resolution to spend that money on 10s,” Councilmember Courtney Johnston said. “Spend the money on the newer models and move on please.”

The bill doesn’t only authorize MNPD to purchase the updated model. It also increases the value of the contract from $6.5 million to $15.75 million.

Metro Finance clarified that the funds will come directly out of the police department’s budget, as previously allocated by the city in the fiscal year 2024 budget.

Still, some members questioned the need.

“Tasers are not de-escalation tools, they are weapons,” Councilmember Ginny Welsh said. “We do not need to keep funneling money into the police department to buy more and more things to use against the citizenry of Nashville.”

Others, like Councilmember Delishia Porterfield, cited lingering questions about the nature of the contract. As the leader of the council’s Budget and Finance Committee, she is in charge of bringing forward budgetary contracts, automatically making her the bill’s co-sponsor. While she pushed to defer the bill, the council decided to take it up.

It’s not the first time that Tasers sparked debate amongst the council. Last year, the body rejected a similar $24 million proposal, pointing to the previous purchase of new Tasers two years prior.

This time around, a majority supported the legislation, with 29 councilmembers voting for passage.