Metro Police will have more of their blue lights surrounding rainbow flags in upcoming gay pride events.
At a vigil held this week, there was an overwhelming number of police cars — nearly bumper-to-bumper around the Public Square. Police say they will have the same visible presence for Nashville’s Pride Festival next weekend.
Lieutenant David Leavitt oversees special events for the city, and he’s openly gay. His job is to organize extra on-duty police officers. This job has become even more critical following Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando.
“This could have been us, folks. This could have been Nashville. Hate has no borders,” Leavitt said.
The Nashville Pride Festival has hired private security in the past. But this year uniformed officers will also staff the event, though they’re not going into details.
Besides the festival itself, Metro Police have reached out to gay bars and asked owners to report any suspicious activity.
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