Clarksville, TN – First, this is a change to Clarksville Police Department policy, not City Code or State law. State law requires that funeral processions be led in a safe and appropriate manner. The old policy, quite frankly, did not meet this standard.
Second, and this is where the bulk of misinformation has resulted, the number of vehicles in a funeral procession is not (and cannot be) limited. The revised policy is that for funeral processions led by 1 police vehicle (approximately 95% of those involving CPD), the CPD officer can only be responsible for getting seven cars safely through intersections and other traffic conditions.
The reasons for the change and the revised policy were made available to everyone who attended the Public Safety Committee meetings.
I hope you will join us in attempting to keep safety as CPD’s number one priority. This revised policy allows the City to continue offering funeral procession escorts in a way that meets the standards and requirements of Tennessee law and, most importantly, keeps our citizens safe.
Chief Al Ansley has done an extraordinary job in researching this issue and communicating with the local funeral industry and other public safety departments across the State and has accumulated a number of documents which I’m sure he will be happy to share with you at your request. Please let us know if you would like any of this additional information.
Additionally, we intend to hold a meeting with members of the local clergy who have expressed concern with this issue to discuss this with them.
Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan
