TBI Will Probe All Police-Involved Fatal Shootings In Nashville From Now On

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will look into all fatal shootings involving Metro police, a policy announced Thursday. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk’s decision comes nearly a week after a Metro officer shot and killed a Nashville man.

To date, the police department has conducted its own internal investigations of officer-involved shootings. Funk commended the past expediency and transparency.

“Metro Nashville Police Department investigators have great integrity,” Funk said. “However, best practices from around the country require that these investigations must also be independent.”

Police Chief Steve Anderson did not attend a press conference held Thursday, but Funk said the two men spent the morning discussing the new policy and that no one should “over-read” into his absence.

Chief Anderson later released a statement welcoming the involvement of both the TBI and the FBI.

“There is agreement across the board that a fair, timely and accountable investigation must take place,” Anderson said. “I believe it important that Nashville’s citizens have a full understanding of the circumstances involved in police-involved shooting incidents. We will work to ensure that the public is kept informed of relevant detail as we work with the TBI moving forward.”

The TBI says it will start the investigation from scratch, which director Mark Gwyn says will be a challenge at this point, six days after the shooting.

“Due diligence, however, requires us to start at the beginning in this-and every-investigation,”  Gwyn said in a statement. “Still, we remain confident in our ability to investigate this case with the integrity, openness, and professionalism it demands.”