Tensions high in Nashville, state in wake of police shootings

Tensions were high in Nashville and across Tennessee on Friday in the wake of the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas in apparent retaliation for the deaths of unarmed black men by police elsewhere in the nation.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said a man who opened fire on a highway in Bristol targeted police and others because of incidents involving black people and law enforcement.

Watch live: Nashville Black Lives Matter Vigil

Nashville police decommissioned an officer over a Facebook post that appears to reference the number of shots fired when a Minnesota officer fatally shot a black man after a traffic stop.

Nashville police chief orders officer decommissioned after Facebook post

And in Memphis, authorities suspended two officers for posts on the social media platform Snapchat. The post shows a white man's hand pointing a gun at an emoji of a black boy.

At the same time, communities across the state rallied in support of law enforcement and called for unity and peace. Clergy gathered in front of the Metro police headquarters in Nashville. Others had a vigil outside police headquarters in Clarksville.

"We must come together as one people committed to peace and to ending violence and hatred wherever it exists," Nashville Mayor Megan Barry said in a statement. "The murder of police officers in Dallas working to protect peaceful protesters is horrifying and heartbreaking."

TBI: Tennessee highway gunman motivated by police shootings

A sniper opened fire Thursday night in Dallas during peaceful demonstrators protesting the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn.

The Dallas shootings left five police officers dead. Seven other officers and two civilians were hurt. The attack marks the deadliest attack on law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

"Losing one officer," Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson said, tears filling his eyes, "is very difficult. I can't imagine losing five."

Anderson said officers would step up their presence Friday during a planned vigil organized by Black Lives Matter Nashville to protest police brutality but assured residents of their right to peacefully gather. The vigil and subsequent march on Broadway that drew more than 1,000 people in downtown Nashville remained peaceful.

Anderson said while he isn't familiar with the police training in Baton Rouge or Falcon Heights, but in Nashville officers must undergo more than 220 hours in use of force instruction, including de-escalation skills.

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"Our training emphasizes the sanctity of human life," he said. "I have confidence in the men and women working to protect the people of this city, their moral ethic, the skills they possess and their ability to make appropriate decisions in difficult situations."

Still, Black Lives Matter Nashville decried police militarization in Nashville and said the city is not immune from problems.

The organization called on Metro to dismantle its Operation Safer Streets program, which Black Lives Matter said specifically targets black and brown neighborhoods in Nashville, incarcerating disproportionate numbers of people in minority groups.

Metro police describe the operation as a way to combat gang activity in Nashville.

But others said Metro police are working to diffuse tensions.

The Rev. James Thomas cited Metro police's handling of the 2014 protests in the city after a grand jury declined to indict a police officer after he fatally shot an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., as an example. Police handed out hot chocolate instead of making arrests.

"We are very proud of the way Chief Anderson handled (the 2014 protest)," Thomas said.

Thomas has seen several police chiefs come and go since he moved to Nashville in 1964 from Beaumont, Texas, but Anderson stands out because of the way he protects protesters.

"Back during the civil rights movement, we had no protection," he said.

Thomas said the relationship between police and the African-American community isn't perfect.

"Nothing is like you want it right now, but we see the steps in the right direction," Thomas said.

Back in April two Metro police officers were attacked and seriously injured in less than a 24-hour period while trying to help residents in East Nashville’s James Cayce public housing development. The attacks prompted Metro police to set up mobile video cameras and beef up patrols in the complex.

And this week, Metro police officer Anthony Venable was decommissioned after he made a Facebook post referencing the police-involved shooting in Falcon Heights, Minn.

“Yeah I would have done 5,” Venable wrote during a Facebook conversation, according to Metro police officials.

The comments appeared to reference the number of shots in the Minnesota case in which police killed 32-year-old Castile.

Even with an extra vigilance at planned protests against the police, Anderson said his officers are committed to protecting the community.

"People have a need and a right to express their concerns," he said. "We want that to happen in a safe manner."

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Holly Meyer, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072 and on Twitter @nataliealund. Reach Ariana Sawyer at 615-815-5933 and on Twitter @a_maia_sawyer.