By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) -The Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday following an investigation, calling on the Tennessee city’s police to undertake significant reforms.
The federal investigation began in July 2023, in the wake of the beating death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis officers.
Memphis police conduct unlawful stops, searches and arrests, discriminate in responses to people with behavioral health disabilities and in its treatment of children “who have experienced aggressive and frightening encounters with officers,” the report said.
A spokesperson for the Memphis Police Department directed inquiries for comment on the investigation to City Hall. A spokesperson for City Hall said they plan to hold a press conference on Thursday.
Memphis City Attorney Tannera Gibson wrote in a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday that city officials were not yet ready to negotiate reforms with the department, saying that they needed time to review the report’s findings.
Gibson wrote that the investigation “only took 17 months to complete, compared to an average of 2-3 years in almost every other instance, implying a rush to judgment.”
The city, Gibson added, could not yet agree with the Justice Department to “work toward or enter into a consent decree” – a court-approved settlement that typically commits police departments to systemic reforms and often involves oversight by an independent monitor for a number of years.
In October a federal jury found three former Memphis officers guilty of witness tampering in relation to their trial for Nichols’ death. The officers were cleared of the most serious charges that could have resulted in life in prison. Two other former officers had already pleaded guilty to federal charges and testified against their former colleagues in the trial.
Three of the officers still face a murder trial in Tennessee state court in April.
The Justice Department acknowledged in a statement that the police had undergone some reforms but said more changes were needed to correct the issues it found.
“The people of Memphis deserve a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, garners trust and keeps them safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The Justice Department statement said the Memphis Police Department and the city government had cooperated fully with the investigation. Federal officials “will be conducting outreach to members of the Memphis community for input on remedies to address the department’s findings,” it said.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by William Mallard)
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