Memphis officials rebuffed Justice Department attempts to place its police force on federal supervision nearly two years after the fatal beating of a Black man.
By David Nakamura, The Washington PostDemonstrators protest the killing of Tyre Nichols along Riverside Drive on Jan. 27, 2023, in Memphis. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop Jan. 7 and soon after beaten unconscious by five officers.
Gibson said similar investigations into departments in other cities - including Minneapolis, Louisville and Phoenix - have lasted between two and three years, making the process in Memphis appear rushed by comparison. In addition, assistance measures other than federal oversight that costs taxpayers a lot of money can result in faster and more efficient reforms, she said.
In his campaign, Trump promised to reverse the Biden administration’s intervention into local law enforcement agencies and support more aggressive policing tactics, including the use of stop-and-frisk to detain people and dispatching the National Guard to subdue unrest. Federal authorities launched their investigation in Memphis in July 2023, seven months after the police beating of motorist Tyre Nichols sparked national outrage. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was beaten by several Black Memphis officers on Jan. 7, 2023, and died three days later of his injuries in an incident caught on police surveillance and body-camera footage that was released to the public.
“After evaluating the effects of these consent decrees in other cities, we believe there are better ways to reimagine policing that do not slow the process or cost the taxpayers millions of dollars,” Gibson wrote in her letter to the Justice Department. She cited the department’s past use of technical assistance letters, which offer jurisdictions federal guidance and support but do not require judges or monitors to sign off on compliance.
On Tuesday, current and former Justice Department officials gathered in Washington along with police leaders and community activists to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 congressional legislation that allowed the federal government to use consent decrees to push for systemic reforms - a bill sparked by the 1991 police beating of Black motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles.
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