Delke Trial: Nashville Police Commander Discusses How Officers Are Trained To Use Force

Commander Scott Byrd took on the role of Metro Nashville Police’s director of training during a leadership change last year, and he’s tried to establish himself as a reformer who’s committed to improving how Nashville police officers are trained. But the recent spate of shootings has put those promises to the test.

Nashville police officers have shot five people so far this year, and two young men have shot and killed themselves during encounters with officers — one seemingly accidentally. Next week, a Metro Nashville Police officer will stand trial for murder next week, for the first time in the city’s history.

In Nashville police’s training academy they’re taught a concept called “action beats reaction.” It teaches recruits to always be prepared for danger and to act before it’s too late.

I asked if officers might rush to use deadly force, because they are being taught to see dangers that aren’t really there. But Byrd says it’s up to the person being stopped by police to set the tone for the encounter.

“The idea and the circumstance is, is that those individuals that we’re coming into contact with are the ones that are dictating how it is that we get to responding,” he said. “If they afford us the opportunity to be able to have conversations, then those will have vastly different outcomes.”

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“We really want to focus on the judgement and decision making,” says Metro Nashville Police Lt. Grant Carroll. He’s overseen the department’s firearms and defensive tactics training since 2015.

Byrd says officers are taught to have empathy. It’s part of the 1,000 hours of instruction officers receive in topics ranging from constitutional law to implicit bias.

But recruits also spend about 100 hours learning how to shoot a gun. And often when police actually do shoot someone, body camera footage has shown officers talking to people in one moment — sometimes even telling them they don’t want to shoot — but then, within seconds, pulling the trigger.

Byrd says officers can de-escalate. But only when they have a willing partner.

“When the officer tells you not put your hands in your pocket, when the officer tells you not to go into the car, when the officer tells you to to calm down and let’s have a conversation, listen to those instructions,” he says. “Because at the end of the day, all it does is benefit everybody that’s there — not only the officer, but the individual that we’re over there looking to address as well.”

But sometimes people just aren’t able to take orders from police. In one case this spring, a team of SWAT officers responded to a mother’s 911 call about her 23-year-old son with schizophrenia. He was armed and threatening to kill her or others. And when officers approached, he yelled at them to go away.

More: Learn more about how Nashville Police are trained in our podcast, Deadly Force

I asked what tools that officers being taught to de-escalate such situations. Byrd said people have to demonstrate a willingness for a conversation to happen.

“When the situation is stable, as in shots are not being fired or the gun’s not being waved around, that’s when conversations can happen,” he said. “When the gun is being pointed or being shot or being pointed indiscriminately, well, it changes the dynamic of what it is that we’re looking at.

“Again, the protection of life, the protection from death or serious bodily injury for not only the officer that’s there with him, but that officer also has to consider all of those around him or her, not only fellow officers, but citizens that could potentially be impacted by what is going on as well.”

Samantha Max WPLN News

Recruits at the Nashville Police Academy learn about the use of force continuum in a defensive tactics course on April 30.

Byrd is saying officers have a responsibility to protect others and themselves. But policing isn’t as dangerous as it’s often made out to be. About 200 officers die on duty every year — in shootings, yes, but also from traffic accidents and job-related illnesses.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 civilians are shot and killed by police annually.

Body camera footage of the incident involving the young man with schizophrenia shows officers decked out in tactical gear barking commands at a man in mental crisis as he says he wants to be left alone.

That’s how officers are trained to talk to people who are anxious or aggressive. A course from the academy teaches officers that if police are assertive enough, people will back down, because they’re afraid of getting hurt. They’re told to shout things like: “Stop, police!”

I asked how effective those tactics would be for someone who is in mental crisis.

“That speaks to an aspect of 1,000 hours of training that our folks get with respect to things,” he said. “Depending on what the circumstance is, that tool may work, what it is that you’ve explained there. But again, it represents one of many tools that officers have available to them in order to get to addressing those situations.”

Byrd says the Metro Nashville Police Department reviews every use-of-force incident to see if officers are following their training. And when the department notices a pattern, they consider making changes to the curriculum.

You can learn more about how Nashville officers are trained to use force in episode two of Deadly Force Tuesday night at 6:30 on 90.3 or your WPLN app. You can also follow the podcast by visiting wpln.org/deadlyforce or through your favorite podcasting app.

This story was produced as part of APM Reports’ public media accountability initiative, which supports investigative reporting at local media outlets around the country. Support also came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.