City Council’s public safety committee avoids talking about Tyre Nichols
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, who generally attends the council’s biweekly public safety committee, was not present for the Tuesday, Jan. 24, morning meeting.
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Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for more than 40 years.
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Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, who generally attends the council’s biweekly public safety committee, was not present for the Tuesday, Jan. 24, morning meeting.
In a recorded statement released late Wednesday evening, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said other MPD officers, besides the five already fired last week for violating department policies in Tyre Nichols’ death, are under investigation.
President Joe Biden and local officials speak ahead of the release of police video of the arrest of Tyre Nichols. Much of the reaction followed the filing of second-degree murder charges against five Memphis Police officers.
Mayor Jim Strickland said an outside review of MPD’s special units will likely determine if police culture needs to change or if more training is the answer. Reaction to charges in Tyre Nichols case echo calls for justice Here’s what’s closing early Friday ahead of Tyre Nichols footage releaseRelated stories:
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. announced the suspensions and investigation Friday, Jan. 27, after viewing the video of the incident.
The “Behind The Headlines” reporters roundtable focused on the death of Tyre Nichols and its long-term impact on policing and criminal justice reform in Memphis.
As public officials expressed outrage about Tyre Nichols’ death online, the protests marking the release of the videos returned to the symbol of local protest in the age of Black Lives Matter — the bridges across the Mississippi River.
Three Memphis firefighters have been fired for violating “numerous” department protocols in the treatment of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department announced.
The affordable housing development has been a decade in the making. Construction begins amidst a new push to scale affordable housing in blighted areas beyond isolated units as well as new concerns about how nonprofits get the land for development.
Leaders of the sunset protest demanded the names of every officer involved in Nichols’ death and that they all be charged. Meanwhile, the parents of Nichols were among a smaller group that gathered Monday evening in the Brandywine subdivision where Nichols was beaten by police the night they stopped him.
A seventh Memphis Police officer under investigation and off the job is not identified. But police brass say he and officer Preston Hemphill have been relieved of duty since the day after Tyre Nichols was beaten by police in southeast Memphis.
President Joe Biden told the family last week he would make passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in Congress a priority.Related story:
The DMC president raised $347,482 since September compared to the $311,719 raised by Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and $300,000 by businessman and philanthropist J.W. Gibson.
Memphis City Council member Frank Colvett formally announced his candidacy Thursday, Feb. 2.
On The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast, Michalyn Easter-Thomas talks about trying out a ban on traffic stops by police for certain offenses. Other council members want a department-wide review.
The City of Memphis has a new system to alert citizens of emergency situations.
Hemphill is the sixth MPD officer to be fired for violating police policies in the Jan. 7 death of Tyre Nichols. State board suspends 2 of 3 fired EMTs over failure to help Tyre NicholsRelated story:
The review of the department will include a look at special police units and use-of-force policies. It is the second MPD review by the Justice Department in six years. A 2016 review was cut short by the Trump administration.
Sarah Houston talked on “Behind The Headlines” about the coal ash cleanup still in progress at the old TVA Allen Fossil Plant and its impact on the Memphis Sands aquifer, which supplies the city’s water.
The two resolutions signal a return to the issue of use of force by law enforcement for the commission as well as the Memphis City Council nearly three years after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis prompted votes by both bodies on a series of similar resolutions.
Former Mayor Willie Herenton makes a field of 11 declared candidates for this year’s Memphis mayoral election.
Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert pledged the Riverdale branch office would open by the end of 2022. It’s not open yet, and Halbert told county commissioners Monday she doesn’t know when it will be.
The two resolutions approved unanimously drew criticism from activists because they are not binding on law enforcement. Commissioners are exploring ways to draft them as ordinances that could be more binding on the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
The unusually long committee discussion comes with six ordinance proposals that would reform police policies and begins with what are expected to be lots of questions for Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis.
Three contenders reported raising $300,000 or better in the first financial report of the mayor’s race. J.W. Gibson talked on The Daily Memphian’s “On The Record” podcast about his mix of contributions with self financing and why he wants to depart from outgoing Mayor Jim Strickland’s “brilliant at the basics” theme.