Reporter
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.
There are 3970 articles by Bill Dries :
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.
Former Mayor Willie Herenton makes a field of 11 declared candidates for this year’s Memphis mayoral election.
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.
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 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.
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 City of Memphis has a new system to alert citizens of emergency situations.
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.
Memphis City Council member Frank Colvett formally announced his candidacy Thursday, Feb. 2.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Three Memphis firefighters have been fired for violating “numerous” department protocols in the treatment of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department announced.
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.
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.
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. announced the suspensions and investigation Friday, Jan. 27, after viewing the video of the incident.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Environmental activist Justin J. Pearson followed up his Tuesday victory in the District 86 Democratic primary with a 9-0 county commission vote Wednesday, appointing him to the open seat in the Shelby County delegation.
In his first race for elected office, Pearson easily beat attorney and former Shelby County Commissioner Julian Bolton in the Democratic primary. Pearson will be running uncontested in the general election.
Proposals include keeping data on police traffic stops and renewing plans to increase police training.