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Nashville N.A.A.C.P. Leader Finds Bull’s-Eye in His Yard Nashville N.A.A.C.P. Leader Finds Bull’s-Eye in His Yard
(about 5 hours later)
The leader of the Nashville chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. walked out of his house on Saturday night to find that someone had propped up a bull’s-eye target in his yard, apparently having done so by climbing over a locked gate. The leader of the Nashville chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. walked out of his house on Saturday night to find that someone had propped up a bull’s-eye target in his yard.
So the chapter president, the Rev. Keith Caldwell, called the police. But according to an account that Mr. Caldwell posted on Facebook, the officer who came to his house did not take the threat seriously. The officer, he wrote, shrugged “and said that he ‘thought the target was pretty cool.’”So the chapter president, the Rev. Keith Caldwell, called the police. But according to an account that Mr. Caldwell posted on Facebook, the officer who came to his house did not take the threat seriously. The officer, he wrote, shrugged “and said that he ‘thought the target was pretty cool.’”
“I informed him that I am the local N.A.A.C.P. President and have deep concerns about what this could mean for the safety of my life and the lives of my family members,” Mr. Caldwell wrote. He said he had told the officer “that it concerned me that he was so flippant about the matter.”“I informed him that I am the local N.A.A.C.P. President and have deep concerns about what this could mean for the safety of my life and the lives of my family members,” Mr. Caldwell wrote. He said he had told the officer “that it concerned me that he was so flippant about the matter.”
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement on Monday that it was reviewing the interaction between its officer and Mr. Caldwell, which it referred to as an “apparent disagreement.” The department also said that it was seeking to determine who had placed the target in Mr. Caldwell’s yard, and that it would be conducting extra patrols in Mr. Caldwell’s neighborhood. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement on Monday that it was seeking to determine who had placed the target in Mr. Caldwell’s yard, and that it was reviewing the interaction between its officer and Mr. Caldwell, which it referred to as an “apparent disagreement.”
“There was no note or anything else with the target,” the department said in response to questions on Monday about the event. The department said that an officer, a sergeant and a captain had a “cordial” meeting with Mr. Caldwell at his home on Sunday. Later Monday, it said that the officer, Eric McCoy, told the department’s Office of Professional Accountability, which investigates complaints, that he “meant no disrespect to Caldwell and understands how his words were misconstrued.”
The department described the target — a bull’s-eye with plastic bristles, propped up on a stand in the yard — as “part of an indoor/outdoor game available from Wal-Mart.” The department said that the two would meet in a mediation session.
“Mr. Caldwell is concerned that the target may have been placed in his yard as an act of intimidation due to his role as Nashville N.A.A.C.P. president or due to a dispute a member of his family is having with another individual,” the department said. It said the threat assessment unit in its investigations department was examining the case. It also said that, using surveillance footage, it had identified the man who had placed the target in the yard. The police said the man, Roy E. Brown, 63, knew Mr. Caldwell and “thought the plastic game target resembled a flower that would look nice.”
Mr. Brown received a citation charging him with intimidation, a misdemeanor, the police said.
Mr. Caldwell, reached by telephone on Monday night, said, “From the information I have, it does not appear to be a racialized act.”
“I am advocating for it to be heard in mental health court,” he said.
Mr. Brown could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday night.
The department described the target — a bull’s-eye with plastic bristles, propped up on a stand in the yard — as a game “available from Wal-Mart.”
Mr. Caldwell was initially concerned that the target might have been placed in the yard as an act of intimidation because of his role as N.A.A.C.P. president, the police said.
Under his leadership, Mr. Caldwell said, the N.A.A.C.P. chapter has worked with the chief of Nashville’s Police Department on oversight and threats toward African-Americans. Mr. Caldwell also said he had been lobbying the chief to make body cameras mandatory for officers.Under his leadership, Mr. Caldwell said, the N.A.A.C.P. chapter has worked with the chief of Nashville’s Police Department on oversight and threats toward African-Americans. Mr. Caldwell also said he had been lobbying the chief to make body cameras mandatory for officers.
In 2018, after a white Nashville officer fatally shot a black man who was running away from him, the N.A.A.C.P. chapter was part of a coalition that proposed the creation of a civilian board to investigate allegations of police misconduct. The board was approved in a referendum that year.In 2018, after a white Nashville officer fatally shot a black man who was running away from him, the N.A.A.C.P. chapter was part of a coalition that proposed the creation of a civilian board to investigate allegations of police misconduct. The board was approved in a referendum that year.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Caldwell, 52, said that although he had previously been the target of racial slurs and threats, he had not received any such threats lately before the bull’s-eye showed up in his yard. Mr. Caldwell, 52, said that although he had previously been the target of racial slurs and threats, he had not received any such threats lately before the bull’s-eye showed up in his yard.
“Not any more than the organizer of a community organization has had for the past 20 years,” he said. “The N-word, and ‘watch yourself,’ but nothing having stuff put in my yard.”“Not any more than the organizer of a community organization has had for the past 20 years,” he said. “The N-word, and ‘watch yourself,’ but nothing having stuff put in my yard.”
Mr. Caldwell, the pastor at a United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., said he called the nonemergency number for the Police Department after he and a friend found the bull’s-eye on Saturday, to make it a matter of record.Mr. Caldwell, the pastor at a United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., said he called the nonemergency number for the Police Department after he and a friend found the bull’s-eye on Saturday, to make it a matter of record.
After the officer dismissed the target as “pretty cool,” Mr. Caldwell said, he responded by saying: “I am a black man. I am the president of the N.A.A.C.P. In light of the history of oppression, do you not understand?”
Mr. Caldwell said he expected the officer, who is white, to write up the details of the incident and provide a report number.Mr. Caldwell said he expected the officer, who is white, to write up the details of the incident and provide a report number.
“I really felt he maybe needed some sensitivity training,” Mr. Caldwell said. “He just did not think it was a big deal.”“I really felt he maybe needed some sensitivity training,” Mr. Caldwell said. “He just did not think it was a big deal.”
Mr. Caldwell said he was confident that surveillance footage would point the way to a suspect.
“There are some cameras and the cameras will tell the tale,” Mr. Caldwell said. “But I have no idea of who did it and I don’t want to get ahead of the facts.”