MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis said in a letter issued Wednesday that it will not consent to federal oversight of its police force until it has the opportunity to examine and contest the findings of an unpublished Department of Justice investigation into the use of force and treatment of minorities by its officers.
Memphis City Attorney Tannera George Gibson wrote to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to inform them that the city has been asked by the DOJ to sign a contract requiring it to negotiate a consent decree for institutional police and emergency services.
The Justice Department announced an investigation of the Memphis Police Department in July 2023. The inquiry will examine the department’s use of force, stops, searches, and arrests, as well as whether or not it engages in discriminatory policing. The investigation’s results, which were made public six months after Tyre Nicholsby police were beaten to death in January 2023, have not yet been made public.
An agreement demanding reforms that is approved by a federal judge and monitored by an impartial monitor is known as a consent decree. The city may be required to pay fines for infractions, and the federal oversight may last for years.
After President-elect Donald Trump takes office and appoints new department heads, it is unclear what will happen to efforts to come to such agreements between the Justice Department and communities. Consent decrees were used less frequently by the Justice Department under the first Trump administration, and the Republican president-elect is anticipated to drastically alter the department’s civil rights goals once more.
A judicial conclusion substantiating the argument that the City’s patterns and practices violate the Constitution necessitates a legal process, according to the city’s letter. This process includes the city’s authority to contest the DOJ’s procedures for assessing information and witness reliability.
“The City cannot and will not agree to work toward or enter into a consent decree that will likely be in place for years to come and will cost the residents of Memphis hundreds of millions of dollars,” the letter stated, “until the City has had the opportunity to review, analyze, and challenge the specific allegations that support your forthcoming findings report.”
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Justice Department.
Before Nichols fled from a traffic check, police were seen on camera pepper spraying him and using a Taser. As Nichols yelled for his mother, five policemen pursued him down and kicked, punched, and struck him with a police baton a few feet from his house. While Nichols battled his wounds, the police were shown on camera chatting and joking.
Three days after the beating, on January 10, 2023, Nichols passed away. The five officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith—were indicted by a federal grand jury on civil rights and witness tampering charges, dismissed, and charged with murder in state court.
Both Nichols and the previous cops were Black. His passing sparked nationwide demonstrations, increased calls for police reform in the US, and brought the Memphis Police Department under close scrutiny.
The police were members of the Scorpion Unit, a crime suppression squad that was disbanded following Nichols’ passing. In order to increase the number of arrests, the squad targeted violent offenders, illicit firearms, and drugs. They occasionally used force against unarmed individuals.
In agreements with prosecutors, Martin and Mills entered guilty pleas to the federal charges.Early in October, the other three officers were found guilty of witness tampering in connection with the beating cover-up. On civil rights accusations of excessive force and disregard for Nichols’ severe injuries, Bean and Smith were found not guilty.
Haley was found guilty on two lesser counts of breaching Nichols’ civil rights by causing bodily harm, but he was exonerated of violating his rights by causing death. In the upcoming months, a federal judge will sentence the five men.
According to attorneys engaged in the case, Martin and Mills are also anticipated to modify their not guilty pleas in state court. Additionally, Smith, Bean, and Haley have entered not guilty pleas to state counts of second-degree murder. The state case will go to trial on April 28.
In recent years, Justice Department investigators have conducted similar investigations in other locations.
The agency claimed on November 21 that police in Trenton, the capital of New Jersey, had engaged in a pattern of wrongdoing, including making illegal stops and using excessive force. According to the DOJ investigation, officers used pepper spray needlessly, escalated situations aggressively, and made arrests without a warrant.
According to a June 2023 Justice Department investigation, Minneapolis police violated constitutional rights, discriminated against racial minorities, and neglected the safety of detainees for years prior to George Floyd’s murder.
After conducting an inquiry in response to the death of Breonna Taylor, the department discovered in March 2023 that police in Louisville, Kentucky, had a history of discriminating against the Black population and breaching constitutional rights.
The city of Memphis implied a rush to judgment in its letter, stating that the DOJ’s investigation only took 17 months to complete, but the average for nearly every other case was 2-3 years.
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This report was written by Alanna Durkin Richer of the Associated Press in Washington.
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