NASHVILLE, Tenn. --
Nashville's NAACP wants to have a sit down meeting with the mayor and police chief about what they call a "chronic problem" with recruiting and promoting black officers.
Whatever it is they are doing is not working,” said Walter Searcy of the Nashville NAACP.
Nashville NAACP legal chairman Walter Searcy said while the Metro Police Department has made strides in improving diversity on the force, they haven’t done enough.
He points to the most recent data showing that out of the 1,338 sworn officers, 183 are black.
Less than 13 percent of those are African-American when the adult population of Metro Nashville is north of 25 percent," said Searcy.
The civil rights group plans to meet with Mayor Karl Dean and Police Chief Steve Anderson to talk about what they consider a problem with recruiting and promoting black officers.
Currently 6 percent of lieutenants are black and 15 percent of the sergeants are black. Black commanders make up 16 percent of the police force and 14 percent of captains are black.
Searcy said he knows of several minorities who were the most qualified for top jobs but were passed over.
We don't know if it’s the internal politics of the department,” said Searcy.
He feels the department can make a big difference by doing a better job recruiting minorities.
Commander Anthony Carter admits more can be done but says the department is aggressively recruiting minorities at colleges across the country. He feels everyone has a fair chance at promotions.
I think it’s an area we all are aware of, and we're doing our best to try and get as many minorities on board as possible,” said Carter.
Searcy said a diverse department is not just right but also has a direct impact on the community.
Fewer African-Americans on the force is going to translate directly into poor communication between the African-American community and the Metro Police Department,” said Searcy.
NAACP leaders said they've addressed these same concerns before but said this will be their first time meeting with Dean and Anderson.
Nashville's NAACP wants to have a sit down meeting with the mayor and police chief about what they call a "chronic problem" with recruiting and promoting black officers.
Whatever it is they are doing is not working,” said Walter Searcy of the Nashville NAACP.
Nashville NAACP legal chairman Walter Searcy said while the Metro Police Department has made strides in improving diversity on the force, they haven’t done enough.
He points to the most recent data showing that out of the 1,338 sworn officers, 183 are black.
Less than 13 percent of those are African-American when the adult population of Metro Nashville is north of 25 percent," said Searcy.
The civil rights group plans to meet with Mayor Karl Dean and Police Chief Steve Anderson to talk about what they consider a problem with recruiting and promoting black officers.
Currently 6 percent of lieutenants are black and 15 percent of the sergeants are black. Black commanders make up 16 percent of the police force and 14 percent of captains are black.
Searcy said he knows of several minorities who were the most qualified for top jobs but were passed over.
We don't know if it’s the internal politics of the department,” said Searcy.
He feels the department can make a big difference by doing a better job recruiting minorities.
Commander Anthony Carter admits more can be done but says the department is aggressively recruiting minorities at colleges across the country. He feels everyone has a fair chance at promotions.
I think it’s an area we all are aware of, and we're doing our best to try and get as many minorities on board as possible,” said Carter.
Searcy said a diverse department is not just right but also has a direct impact on the community.
Fewer African-Americans on the force is going to translate directly into poor communication between the African-American community and the Metro Police Department,” said Searcy.
NAACP leaders said they've addressed these same concerns before but said this will be their first time meeting with Dean and Anderson.
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