Metro police are setting up mobile video cameras and beefing up patrols in an East Nashville public housing development after two officers were attacked and seriously injured in less than a 24-hour period while trying to help residents in the low-income neighborhood, the department’s top police official said Wednesday.
“I want to be clear that Officer Josh Hausman on Monday night and Officer Matthew Cammarn last night had come to that neighborhood to protect citizens from harm and were themselves attacked,” Nashville police Chief Steve Anderson said, referencing James Cayce’s crime-laden community on South Seventh Street. “Attacks on police officers are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated by this city. Thankfully, Officers Hausman and Cammarn are going to be OK.”
Cammarn, an East Precinct police officer, was attacked about 6 p.m. Tuesday as he attempted to arrest a man whom the officer saw assault a woman in the neighborhood that consists of 716 families and 1,900 residents. He was released from Vanderbilt University Medical Center after treatment for a concussion and will remain on medical leave for several days.
Hausman, a Central Precinct police officer who was stabbed in the right hand around 9 p.m. Monday while trying to break up a fight between two women over men, also remained on medical leave Wednesday. Police spokesman Don Aaron said Hausman, a three-year department veteran, may be out on medical leave for some time because he had to get stitches for his wound.
Mayor Megan Barry, who joined the chief in denouncing violence against police during a news conference Wednesday, said she’d spoken with both officers since their respective assaults and that both were in good spirits.
“Attacks on our police officers are outrageous and completely unacceptable,” Barry said, noting anyone who is violent toward the city’s police officers will be punished to the full extent of the law. “Our officers put their lives on the line to promote safety and well-being of our citizens. In order to quell further acts of violence, the East Precinct will have an increased presence in the area, and they are working to engage community and faith leaders to work with residents and their guests to resolve disputes.”
Anderson said the department has asked local members of the faith-based community to establish a presence in the area to reduce tensions and work toward a non-violent resolution to disputes.
In addition, he said, over the next several days East Precinct Flex Officers from all three shifts will be assigned to the neighborhood, and a crime reduction initiative, staffed by extra duty officers being paid overtime, is also being implemented there.
A task force consisting of five police officers and one sergeant all specifically assigned to public housing communities will also work exclusively in Cayce Homes until further notice.
The department also planned to install mobile camera systems in the area Wednesday, Anderson said, with one deployed to the specific area where the officers were assaulted.
Officers will also patrol the area in pairs in an effort to not only increase their safety, but also the community’s, Anderson said.
Police said Cammarn was named the 2015 Police Officer of the Year for saving the life of a 17-year-old gunshot victim on North Eighth Street.
His attack, recorded by someone in the public housing development, has gone viral.
Before he was assaulted, police say, Cammarn saw 22-year-old Brian Shannon assault a woman, and when the officer tried to help her, Shannon walked up to Cammarn aggressively.