Marc Perrusquia
Investigative Reporter
There are 111 articles by Marc Perrusquia :
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September 2018
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Metro During the murder trial last year of defendant Brandon Taylor, defense attorney Gregory Carman and Memphis Police Department homicide detective Fausto Frias engaged in a testy exchange. -
Metro Memphis Police Department’s response on interrogations
In response to weeks of questioning by Marc Perrusquia, director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting, about the Memphis Police Department’s long reluctance to record custodial interrogations, MPD spokeswoman Karen Rudolph released the following statements via email. The final statement repeated the Institute’s questions and provided answers.
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October 2018
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Public Safety Banks shooting pulls MPD into national fray over reliability, proper use of bodycams
One by one, police dashboard cameras malfunctioned that chilly night in Chicago. -
Breaking News
Public SafetyMPD releases names of 51 officers violating body camera policy, withholds details
The Memphis Police Department has released the names of 51 officers accused of violating the department’s body camera policy but is withholding specific details about the infractions.
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December 2018
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Public Safety Searching for funding, MPD still not recording interrogations of murder suspects
As the Memphis Police Department struggles to catch up with a nationwide movement to reform interrogations, its failure to record lets an accused murderer go free.
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January 2019
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Metro Perrusquia: In an age of angst over police overreach, the recently filed surveillance lawsuit has broad implications
Ernest Withers aimed his camera through a bramble of twisting oak limbs, sharpening his focus on a home atop a small hill.
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February 2019
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Business POWER BROKER
As Franklin Haney tells it, his trouble started when President Donald Trump passed him a business tip. It came on an otherwise delightful night last spring as they dined at adjacent tables in Florida’s exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort.
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April 2019
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Opinion Perrusquia: Conspiracy theory about MLK’s Memphis march skirts essential facts
As the story goes, FBI agents hired provocateurs to smash store windows and start a riot designed to embarrass King. A recent account includes civil rights photographer Ernest Withers in the plot, but there's no credible proof for the theories.
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May 2019
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A RELUCTANCE TO RECORD
An investigation by the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis reveals MPD is a prominent outlier in a national movement among police departments to fully record the questioning of suspects during homicide investigations, making its detectives frequent targets for allegations of impropriety.
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Metro Recording interrogations is ‘something that should happen’
Bucking a nationwide movement, nine of 13 Southern states have no state law or court edict requiring police to video or audio record interrogations, according to recent studies.
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September 2019
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Premium
Real EstateSpecial report: Union Men
In Part One of our two-part series: How developers lassoed huge public incentives and millions of out-of-state dollars to redo the face of Downtown.
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Real Estate Union Row 101
The Three 'R's of Union Row: In an extra to our Special Report, learn the reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic behind Memphis' largest mixed-use development.
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Real Estate Special Report: Union Men, Part 2
In Part Two of our series: How the Great Recession nearly flattened J. Kevin Adams before he rebounded to assemble possibly his greatest project yet.
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Real Estate When developers seek incentives should officials check their backgrounds?
Extra to our Special Report: Unlike Memphis, some cities dig deep into the backgrounds of developers seeking public incentives.
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January 2020
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Public Safety MPD detective retires after admitting sexual contact with murder defendant
A Memphis Police Department homicide detective who was sleeping with a murder defendant retired last fall amid an internal investigation into his conduct, effectively allowing him to escape disciplinary action.
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Premium
Public SafetyMPD detective who had sex with suspect gets $43K pension
Criminal charges possible against Memphis homicide detective Eric Kelly, who retired with pension amid questions about his sexual relationship with a murder suspect.
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Public Safety Detective at center of sex scandal also a target in 2018 case
The homicide detective now at the center of a Memphis Police Department sex scandal also made news in 2018 for his role in a contentious murder case that led to reforms in MPD’s interrogation practices.
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Public Safety Records illustrate murder suspect’s steamy relationship with retired MPD detective
"I first met him in the interrogation room when I was arrested for accessory after the fact – first-degree murder,’’ Bridgett Stafford told investigators.
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March 2020
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Public Safety Coronavirus threatens vulnerable jail population
Reform advocates say more efforts need to be made to ensure the poor aren't being put at undue risk in jail during the coronavirus threat. Judges say it can be complicated.
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Exclusive
CoronavirusExclusive: COVID threat triggers jail bailouts
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Shelby County continue to rise, Just City, a nonprofit criminal justice reform organization, is armed with $50,000 from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization and another $25,000 from an anonymous donor with the intention of bailing out several Shelby County Jail inmates this week who are believed to be vulnerable to the virus.
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Public Safety Emergency state Supreme Court petition seeks inmate releases
An emergency petition filed with the Tennessee Supreme Court seeks the release of numbers of inmates from local jails and prisons as COVID-19 outbreaks begin to appear across the state.
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Metro Mining the mundane: How local investigators track COVID around Shelby County
Lloyd Kimble, a 55-year-old Navy veteran, is a detective of an entirely different sort, one most people never think about.
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Coronavirus Coronavirus daily blog, March 27: ‘Social nature’ of parks threatens access to them
The city could close parks if social distancing is not maintained.
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Coronavirus Coronavirus daily blog, March 23: Second St. Jude employee tests positive
The Tennessee Department of Health releases the latest numbers: 93 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Shelby County and 615 cases in Tennessee.
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Exclusive
CoronavirusLine of Defense: Coronavirus infects attorney
Nick Cloud is one of nearly 400 people in Shelby County who’ve contracted the coronavirus COVID-19 infection, but his may be a special case. Cloud, an assistant Shelby County Public Defender, has been in and out of the Shelby County Jail meeting with clients.
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