Heather Burris, the new chief of the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department. Burris was sworn in on March 28. She has been with the department since 2020 and became sergeant on the force in 2021.
Democrat file photo
After three months of being led by an interim leader, Nashville Metropolitan Police Department has a new chief.
On March 28, NMPD Sgt. Heather Burris was sworn in and handed the chief’s badge.
Burris has been an officer with the department since February 2020 and was promoted to sergeant in last December. The decision to hire Burris was made by the Nashville Town Council and the Nashville Metropolitan Police Merit Commission.
Together they interviewed Burris in an executive session on March 28. They offered the position and she accepted before she was sworn in at a public meeting roughly 30 minutes later.
Town Council President Nancy Crocker said that she’s excited to see an experienced officer in the role.
“I am confident she is going to not only do a great job, but look at the police department from a different perspective and make it the best police department it could be,” she said.
Crocker expressed pride in the council and merit commission coming together to work towards a common goal of doing “what’s best for the town.”
The symbolism of both entities standing behind Burris as she was sworn in was clear, Crocker said.
“It was quite a moment to stand behind her. There was much symbolism there,” she said. “We’re all behind (Burris), all here to support (her).”
The council and commission wanted Burris to be the new chief initially, but they did not think Burris would take the job because of various factors.
Then the annual salary was increased to $65,000. The advertised salary for the position was $45,000 to $60,000, determined upon qualifications and experience.
“The community wants her too. They know her, they like her,” Crocker said. “She’s community minded. That’s a huge part of it.”
Mick Reddick has been serving as interim chief since December when former chief Ben Seastrom retired from the role.
Reddick said that Burris taking over is a “good move,” describing Burris as someone who pays attention to details and has a focus on whatever task is at hand.
“She doesn’t let anything drop. She’s conscientious, community oriented,” he said. “She sticks to it, all the time. If she’s given an assignment, she sticks to it. Those are the kinds of things that impress me.”
The two were familiar with each other after serving in Marion County and Marion University Police Department together.
Reddick described Burris as a “discerning arbitrator,” finding common ground with people. He said she knows what the laws are and how to apply them equally.
“I think she’ll handle the job well,” he said.
Community minded
Burris, 34, grew up on the east side of Indianapolis then moved to Shelby County and went to Morristown High School. She graduated from there in 2006.
She and her 15-year-old son live in New Palestine. Burris has been commuting to Nashville since she started with the department. They plan to stay in the New Palestine area.
Entering the world of law enforcement was something impressed upon Burris at a young age. Following a traumatic event at a young age, she worked with a prosecutor and detective who helped her during a court process, empowering her.
“I knew at that point in time I wanted to get into law enforcement,” she said.
Her senior year of high school she was accepted to Vincennes University for law enforcement. She found out she was expecting her son in that same time.
Attending school online while taking care of an eight-week old baby as a single mom was difficult, Burris said.
She decided to put law enforcement on hold and went to emergency medical technician school to learn a trade. She became EMT certified and worked for a private ambulance service and volunteer fire department for six years.
She eventually went back to school for her criminal justice degree and graduated in 2013.
She started her police career in 2015 and went to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department training academy for six months. She worked in Indianapolis districts through full-time officer (FTO) training.
She also worked part-time jobs at Kroger for security.
Burris worked with a deputy in Marion County who later came to the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and told her about an opportunity in the Nashville police department.
She joined NMPD in February of 2020.
“I came down and I really, really liked it,” she said. “I took it and here I am, two years later.”
The small town community was a change of pace for Burris, but that was apart of its appeal.
“Growing up in the city you have a block on the road, but (in Nashville) it’s like a big block,” she said. “The kindness of the people, the camaraderie — I’ve had nothing but good things from people (here).”
She said that anytime she has asked for help, locals have been willing to go “above and beyond.”
“You’re not a number. Here people really appreciate you,” Burris said.
That appreciation was felt on a much deeper level when the merit commission and town council approached her about the chief position.
“I was very humbled, that I was asked to be put in that position,” she said. The decision was not easy. She decided to take time to think, talk to people and get advice to make sure she was ready.
“I just felt I had a lot of encouragement from the community and my support systems,” she said.
Then after much consideration, she made the decision and accepted the challenge of becoming chief.
Burris described herself as goal oriented and wants to bring established goals into the department.
Her goal is to build a foundation for any officer to come into the department and find a strong community-based relationship between the department and the town they serve.
At the same time, she wants to build officer retention.
“In order to have community policing you need to have retention in your officers and build a trust with your department. My ultimate goal is community-based relationship,” she said.
“I have every plan to make it run positively.”
Building trust in the department isn’t exclusively limited to showing up at times of conflict in citizens’ lives, but to also engage the community in fun activities like a water balloon fight in the summertime, Burris said.
“I want to see the community more involved in our department. That trust is very important,” she said.
She recognizes the challenge the department currently faces with the biggest being short staffing.
“I want the community to really know what’s going on with turnover, officers’ pay. When you don’t have that relationship with the community, they don’t know (about those issues),” she said.
How will the community know what’s going on and how does the department ask for help are two questions Burris wants to answer as chief.
“That is a challenge for me that I really, really want to mend,” she said. “It seems repetitive, but it’s the key to everything. If it wasn’t for the community then we wouldn’t have a job. They’re really the reason why we’re here.”
As far as short staffing, Burris said the department is currently covering shifts as best as they can. There are four officers at the department currently including Burris. She wants the community to know that she appreciates the opportunity to serve as chief and is ready to step up to the challenge of leading the department.
At times in her own life, Burris said she has faced difficult situations where a lot of people doubted her, so this promotion feels good.
“It’s definitely a humbling experience that I hope will inspire people in the future,” she said.
