NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After alleged vehicle burglars visited his Hermitage home for the third time since he moved there, a Metro Councilman said he is dedicated to giving police the tools they need to keep residents safe.
District 14 Metro Councilman Jordan Huffman, who represents Hermitage and Donelson, sent News 2 a doorbell camera video showing a car driving slowly and following a man who was walking in the alley behind the home.
“That’s my backyard, and that’s my driveway,” Huffman said.
The footage indicates the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 13. The video didn’t show the man pulling on a door handle or breaking into a car, but it was certainly suspicious, especially since Huffman’s auto glass has been broken out twice so suspects could gain access to his cars.
“It makes me want to push for license plate readers even harder than I am currently,” Huffman said.
The Metro Nashville Police Department told News 2 it had no reports of any damage, adding that only one car was rifled through in the councilman’s neighborhood. To their knowledge, authorities said no items were taken during the most recent incident in the Riverwood Village Boulevard area.
News 2 previously reported that every county surrounding Davidson County has license plate recognition (LPR) systems. If the city had LPR cameras, Huffman said police might already know the identities of the would-be car burglars in his community.
“They can analyze LPR data to see where and when a particular suspect’s vehicle has been spotted,” Huffman said.
Nashville did take part in a six-month LPR pilot program that ended in 2023, during which time MNPD used the crimefighting technology to great success. Over those six months, police not only made more than 100 felony cases, but they reportedly recovered 87 vehicles, with a total value of more than $1 million, along with 14 guns.
However, some members of the Metro Council have expressed privacy concerns about the technology.
“LPRs are legal in Nashville, but what we have not done is pass an LPR contract, meaning a vendor for all of the cameras,” Huffman said. “My colleagues need to consider the public safety of all of their residents and vote for this. This is a no brainer. This is common sense to me.”
According to Huffman, the Mt. Juliet Police Department told him 60% of that city’s arrests involve people from Nashville.
Huffman said he believes most of the people in Nashville are good citizens, but a handful of people are terrorizing the city. He thinks LPR technology could help police take those individuals off the streets.
Huffman hopes to push the LPR issue forward later this spring.
