1 month ago
23
The US Department of Justice said Memphis police “regularly violate the Constitution” and law enforcement often “punishes people who don’t immediately follow directions”, in a press conference Thursday morning.
The conference addressed a “comprehensive and exhaustive” investigation, culminating in a report released the previous day that found that the Memphis police department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people.
“This investigation was comprehensive and exhaustive,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant US attorney general of the civil rights division. “We reviewed hundreds of incidents, watched hundreds of body-worn camera videos, read thousands of documents and conducted statistical analysis of police data regarding officer activities and enforcement.”
“Our investigation has found a pattern or practice of conduct that violates people’s civil and constitutional rights,” Clarke said.
The report is a result of the DoJ launching an investigation into the Memphis police department (MPD) six months after the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Nichols was kicked, punched and beaten with a police baton by five officers after he attempted to flee a traffic stop in January 2023.
The gruesome video that captured Nichols’ death challenged notions of racial discrimination by authorities, showing that Black officers are not immune to adopting racist practices.
In addition to racial discrimination, the report found that the MPD as well as the city of Memphis unlawfully discriminates in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities. The report highlighted an incident where an officer picked up and threw an eight-year-old across the room after responding to a call from his mother regarding his behavioral issues.
The current practices of the MPD “harm and demean people and they promote distrust, undermining the fundamental safety mission of a police department”, Clarke said. She added that the city “must put an end to polices that discriminate against Black people”.
after newsletter promotion
Clarke highlighted an incident where a man was held down by Memphis police and pressure was applied to his neck in response to suspected littering.
“We uncovered one thing that we can all agree; our city had a lot of work to do,” Reagan Fondren, acting US attorney for the western district of Tennessee, said at the conference.
“There is a disconnect that erodes trust and makes us less safe, but it’s a disconnect that we have the power to fix,” she said.
The Scorpion unit, the police team responsible for Nichols’ death, was disbanded following the backlash the department received after the video of the killing was made public.
The DoJ emphasized that the city of Memphis has been cooperative, despite the city stating that they will not agree to federal oversight of the police department. The MPD said that they have made “over 700” policy changes following Nichols’ death.
