NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A recent inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice into the Memphis Police Department has uncovered multiple civil rights violations, highlighting issues such as excessive force, unlawful traffic stops, and a disproportionate focus on Black individuals within a predominantly Black community.
This 17-month investigation was initiated following the tragic incident in January 2023, where Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by officers after attempting to flee a traffic stop.
City officials have expressed hesitance in entering a binding agreement with the Department of Justice aimed at implementing lasting reforms within the police department. They cite uncertainties concerning financial implications and the need for additional time to thoroughly assess the findings of the investigation.
What the investigators uncovered is a police force that heavily relies on conducting numerous traffic stops without adequately evaluating their effectiveness or considering racial disparities.
The findings indicate that officers often escalate interactions during these stops and utilize excessive force, particularly against individuals who are handcuffed or restrained. This includes employing police dogs to bite nonresistant individuals, including children, who are attempting to yield.
Investigators noted that officers frequently stop and detain drivers for minor offenses without sufficient legal grounds and often conduct invasive searches of individuals and their vehicles. Furthermore, the investigation found that Black individuals faced harsher treatment than their white counterparts for similar offenses, spanning from traffic violations to discretion-based misdemeanors such as loitering.
The report also highlighted discriminatory practices toward those with behavioral health disabilities. Officers are required to respond to 911 calls involving individuals experiencing behavioral health crises—most of which are nonviolent—but they sometimes resort to belittling those individuals and applying unnecessary force, including using Tasers.
Of particular concern were the treatment of minors, with reports of officers subjecting children to derogatory language and unwarranted force. Children reportedly experienced coercive interrogation techniques leading to false confessions through lies, empty promises, and threats.
The issues identified by investigators largely stem from inadequate training and ambiguous policies that fail to provide clear guidance on acceptable officer conduct. Additionally, there appears to be a culture within the department that is reluctant to discipline officers engaged in inappropriate behavior.
Statistical data show troubling trends: In a city with roughly 630,000 inhabitants, officers documented close to 866,200 traffic stops between January 2018 and August 2023, with over 296,600 resulting in citations or arrests mainly for minor infractions. When compared to Nashville, Memphis officers conducted approximately double the number of traffic stops and issued threefold the number of citations.
In cases where officers applied neck restraints, over 90% of such encounters were not documented in police reports. Black individuals faced loitering or curfew violation citations 13 times more frequently than white individuals, and disparities extended to other offenses as well, with Black drivers receiving 4.5 times more citations for equipment violations and 9.8 times more for tinted windows.
Between January 2020 and September 2023, Tasers or pepper spray were utilized in over 450 incidents categorized as “less-lethal force.” Additionally, officers arrested 180 Black minors for loitering or curfew violations from January 2018 to August 2023, while only four white minors were arrested for the same charges.
The report presents numerous incidents of concern: Officers employed pepper spray and kicked an unarmed man with mental health issues who attempted to steal a $2 soda; restrained another individual for littering by applying pressure to his neck for 20 seconds, despite his offer to clean up the litter; and even reacted violently when a man criticized their lack of crime-solving.
Moreover, an 8-year-old Black boy with a history of mental health problems had nine distinct encounters with officers from December 2021 to August 2023, where he was taunted and coerced, including being threatened with a Taser and taken to a psychiatric facility. Another case involved a 16-year-old Black girl, handcuffed for refusing to hand over her phone after reporting an assault, who was later restrained again for expressing discomfort with the cuffs.
