There's a new "sheriff" on Church Street

Major changes in the organization of the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) have shifted responsibility for Nashville’s “gayborhood” in the Church Street corridor. Back in August, MNPD officially opened its new Midtown Hills Precinct, under Commander Kay Lokey.

Before her promotion, Commander Lokey had served as a captain in the Domestic Violence Division. The eighteen-year veteran of MNPD is also a lesbian, making her the third woman and the only openly LGBT commander of one of MNPD’s eight precincts. For a profession so dominated by straight males, this seems like an impressive number.

Lokey said this reflects a conscientious effort on the department’s behalf. “I have confidence in our recruiting,” she said. “I was a lieutenant in recruitment, when we set up a booth at Pride the first time. We really want our department to reflect our community but…we have to be creative and show people that this is a great career. We’re looking for individuals with a good moral compass, who have compassion, and want to better the community we live in.”

When asked about what changes would result from the introduction of a new precinct, Lokey explained, “Well, you know, when we added the Midtown Hills precinct, we took some territory from South and West, around forty-seven square miles. Church Street is under our span of control now.”

The familiar faces of Nashville West will still be seen in the gayborhood, though. Lokey said, “As far as individuals that are familiar, you pretty much have the same people in play. Lt. Dave Levitt, who runs midnight shift in Midtown Hills, transferred from West. Many of our sergeants came from there as well.”

One change, however, is that Midtown Hills has a smaller area of coverage than West did. Thus, Lokey explained, “The people and the method of communication is the same, but now we have more focus. West was so huge! We can now better focus on Midtown, Broadway, and Church. If nothing else, it’s probably improved communication.”

When asked how her LGBT identity would affect her work on Church Street, she said, “My identity has not been the focus of my work.” She did, however, acknowledge that she saw cases of same-sex domestic violence in her previous post where she was able to help because of her sexual identity. “At moments where I feel it’s appropriate or needed, I reach out.”

Indeed, Lokey will be no more and no less an advocate for LGBT interests than for any other: “When I put this uniform on, what I try to demonstrate to the community is that I care about their quality of life, their needs and concerns. But I’m here for everybody, not just a part of it. We can’t reach out and say we’re here to serve all members if we don’t represent them—that’s why diversity is so important.”