Episode 3: ‘Deadly Force’ in Nashville, TN

Officer Andrew Delke (Photo courtesy of Nashville Metropolitan Police Department)

“Deadly Force,” a new podcast series from Report for America host newsroom WPLN in Nashville, focuses on the trial of the first Nashville police officer to be charged with murder for shooting someone in the line of duty. Through newly uncovered documents, original interviews and audio footage, Deadly Force gets a glimpse into the mind of a police officer struggling to make sense of when to use his gun and the culture in Nashville surrounding the use of force. We speak with reporter Samantha Max on how the investigative report unfolded, and the status of the murder trial, which had been delayed due to COVID-19.

Through a public records request, Max compiled MNPD training materials from 2016, the year Officer Andrew Delke went through the academy, and 2018. Max looked at courses that seemed relevant to Delke’s case, use of deadly force. This set provided by Max includes all courses.

Deadly Force: Available now wherever you listen to podcasts

Protesters laid flowers and candles in front of a photo of Daniel Hambrick beside memorials for other Black men and women killed by police at a demonstration on July 4. (Photo by Samantha Max/WPLN)
Family and friends mourn the death of Daniel Hambrick, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot by a Nashville police officer, at a vigil on July 26, 2019, the anniversary of his killing. (Photo by Samantha Max/WPLN)
Vickie Hambrick, mother of Daniel Hambrick, embraces, Sheila Clemmons Lee, the mother of Jocques Clemmons, another young Black men killed by Nashville police, at a Black Lives Matter protest on July 4. (Photo by Samantha Max/WPLN)