George Floyd’s death leaves police and fire residency ballot question in new light
Since George Floyd's death, a proposal for hiring police officers and firefighters who live outside the city and county is getting another look. Pictured here, a Memphis Police officer looks out into the crowd during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)
A city task force on public safety started its work this week with several calls for hiring local in the police and fire ranks. Meanwhile, an effort to remove from the Nov. 3 election ballot a proposal for allowing the city to hire police and firefighters who live outside the county may be picking up momentum.
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residency referendum JB Smiley Jr. Jeff Warren Earle J. Fisher police recruitmentBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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