Clement Pledges to Strengthen Police in South Nashville

Mayoral Candidate Bob Clement is calling for more law enforcement in the Hickory Hollow area.

In response to what he calls, a “lack of police protection” for south Nashville, Clement says he intends to strengthen police presence there.

Clement says that only one patrol car is assigned to the zone which covers the Hickory Hollow Mall to the county line, but police officials say that car is in addition to crime suppression detectives and flex officers.

Clement says he has no criticism for the police department, but that a change in direction might be needed.

Last week police union representative James McDerman said that if elected, Clement would push out current Police Chief Ronal Serpas. Clement has neither confirmed nor denied the statement, but said this today:

“The next mayor, first day, can have a new deputy mayor, new director of finance, a new director of law—so under civil service, he’s protected. But, I’ll say this to you: It’s very, very important that the people of Nashville feel safe and secure. A lot of them don’t feel safe and secure these days.”

In addition, Clement says that he would work to fill over 60 vacancies in the police force.

Police officials say that recruiting is already a top priority. In an attempt to attract more officers, the department has placed ads in newspapers and magazines, as well as movie theaters.

When asked what he would do differently to fill the positions, Clement said, “Number one, I’m going to fill ‘em. And number two, I’m going to give it high priority.”

WEB EXTRA

Metro Police Department has faced a major shortage of officers since 2004, when Metro Council approved a measure that offered a financial bonus to city employees who retired before May 15, 2004.