Mayor Paul Young asks gang members for ‘7-day ceasefire’
Memphis Mayor Paul Young convened a discussion with local gang members with the help of 901 Bloc Squad and Heal 901, two of the city’s violence intervention programs.
There are 446 articles by Aarron Fleming :
Memphis Mayor Paul Young convened a discussion with local gang members with the help of 901 Bloc Squad and Heal 901, two of the city’s violence intervention programs.
Fifteen people were indicted for allegedly organizing the enterprise, and dozens more were arrested.
State Sen. Brent Taylor has filed two bills to restrict bail. But they come at a time when crime is trending downward, and some critics say they won’t help anyway.
“Memphis and Shelby County have, in some respects, truly become more threatening in recent years; traffic fatalities have risen, especially since 2020; fewer people are able to legally drive; and people of color face more discrimination on the road and in court,” Decarcerate Memphis’ new report said.
The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct issued Shelby County Criminal Court Division 1 Judge Paula Skahan a public reprimand Feb. 14 for overturning the sentence of Courtney Anderson in December 2022.
Three alleged members of the Unknown Vice Lords/Ghost Mob gang were indicted on new charges for their suspected role in the death of an unnamed man last year.
The notes detailing the immediate internal investigation are a part of the thousands of pages of documents the City of Memphis released Wednesday, Feb. 14.
Response-to-resistance forms filed by the former MPD officers who beat Tyre Nichols last year describe their own actions as “soft hand” techniques aimed at getting him into custody.
An affidavit in the case, posted to the online Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal, describes one of the shootings that caused a city-wide manhunt for Craft Sunday. Related story:
The Memphis Police Department has identified the man allegedly behind three Sunday, Feb. 11, shootings that caused a citywide manhunt.
The suspect was out of jail on a bond of $100,000 for criminal attempt first-degree murder and criminal attempt especially aggravated robbery, according to a press release.
Protestors have taken or attempted to take the area’s Mississippi River bridges several times in recent years. How those protests are handled has differed among law enforcement agencies.
On Jan. 30, the City of Memphis released additional footage from the night Tyre Nichols was beaten. The video revealed the names of several officers who responded to the scene and were previously unknown.
A judge has been reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct for saying last year that he “detests” the bail-bond system in Shelby County.
The federal trial for four of the former police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols last year has been pushed back four months.
Demarion Tackett, 16, is accused of shooting 76-year-old John Materna, who was known for selling watermelons in The Heights neighborhood, on May 15, 2023. Materna died in the hospital two weeks after being shot.
Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly gave a 20% raise to most of state prosecutors and state public defenders. But the raise for Shelby County is capped at 5%.
Charges against Marious Ward, the alleged shooter in the case, were not dismissed Wednesday, although concerns were raised about how he was developed as a suspect.
Those experts include current and former MPD officers who may speak to MPD’s use-of-force policies and training programs as well as how the actions of the officers the night of Nichols’ death allegedly violated those standards.
Some of the more than 20 bills Taylor filed take aim at Shelby County’s current bail practices and a recent Memphis City Council ordinance that banned pretextual traffic stops by Memphis Police Department officers.
Ramon McGhee was found unresponsive in his cell on Jan. 10, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating McGhee’s death.
In the new footage, other MPD officers are heard describing those in the SCORPION unit as “adrenaline junkies” who are too “hands-on.” One officer is also heard saying, “It’ll be justified.”
The top federal prosecutor in Memphis, U.S. attorney for Western Tennessee Kevin Ritz, says the Department of Justice inquiry affects the relationship his office has with the law enforcement body.
The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct has recommended Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd be removed from office, according to a letter sent to Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally.
Gerald Skahan allegedly sent three text messages where he threatened “bodily harm” or to kill Paula Skahan, according to the complaint.