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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee state lawmakers G.A. Hardaway and Brian Kelsey have drafted a bill that will change how police involved shootings are handled in Tennessee. “That is an important part of the process to make sure there is transparency and everyone is comfortable with the investigation that took place,” said Kelsey. The House and Senate bills said whenever an officer-involved shooting occurs, the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction must immediately notify the district attorney, who will then immediately notify the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. TBI would automatically investigate. “We want TBI to be the agency with original jurisdiction, so when something happens they are the first ones called,” said Hardaway. After the Darrius Stewart shooting, the public called for transparency. The proposed bill also addressed that, saying after the investigation, the TBI must provide a complete report of its findings to the DA and then it will be a public document. Lawmakers said it protects both the public and police. “It gives them timely and thorough review of the evidence. So if there is nothing that is gonna happen in terms of prosecution, they can get back to business. So it’s helpful on both sides of the equation,” said Hardaway. The Black Lives Matter movement said the bill doesn’t go far enough. “I believe we need to put CLERB inside this. Allow them to do an investigation, the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board. That’s for the citizens then we have that transparency,” said Steven Bradley with Black Lives Matter. In the bill, if the DA determines there is no basis to prosecute an officer, the DA must disclose the reason to the public in a report. That too worried Black Lives Matter. “She (the District Attorney)  is sending out a summary and not the entire TBI investigation report. It’s just something that she has to add into the summary to release it. So I am asking that we look for transparency,” said Bradley. Another concern that we have heard about the bill is that it doesn’t have any language about police body cameras. Some said that should be included. Hardaway and Kelsey said all sides were involved in putting this together and there will also be a chance for public input. The bill, which is expected to be introduced in committees this week,  also called for increasing the compensation to families of fallen officers from $25,000 to $100,000.

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