The DOJ investigation also uncovered “serious concerns” about the police department’s treatment of children, as well as deficiencies in training.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Police Department routinely engages in policing that violates residents’ civil rights and discriminates against Black people, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a newly released report.
The report comes after a 16-month-long pattern-or-practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department. According to the DOJ, the department was found to use excessive force and conduct unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. The city and MPD also “discriminate in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities,” the report added.
The probe also uncovered “serious concerns” about the police department’s treatment of children, as well as deficiencies in policy, training, supervision, and accountability that contribute to unlawful conduct, according to the DOJ.
“The people of Memphis deserve a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, garners trust and keeps them safe,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement Wednesday evening.
The DOJ findings did not come as a surprise. On Wednesday, the City of Memphis told the Justice Department that it would not enter into an “agreement in principle,” which would start negotiations for a consent decree. The Justice Department’s news release about its findings does not reference the city’s refusal of federal oversight, saying the department and the city “cooperated fully” with their investigation.
Consent decrees are judge-mandated improvement plans implemented after the DOJ finds wrongdoing within a department. The city of Memphis, in its declination letter, acknowledged that the Justice Department found violations within the police department, but the specific violations were not made public until after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The DOJ first announced the investigation, which is the most in-depth look at a police department it can take, in July 2023. It said at the time that it was looking at whether the Memphis Police Department routinely engaged in policing that discriminated against Black people, conducted improper stops, seizures, and arrests, and used excessive force.
In the months since the investigation was launched, investigators have been in Memphis at various points to conduct interviews with the community and police. They have also looked at the department’s policies and been on ride-a-longs with officers.
Despite being announced months after Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by officers with the Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION Unit, the DOJ said it did not start the investigation due to that incident alone.
Former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland voiced opposition to the city entering a consent decree. Current Mayor Paul Young has been mum on the topic during his first year in office.
Wednesday’s decision not to enter a consent decree was the first take from Young’s office on the pattern-or-practice investigation.
