42 articles by Marc Perrusquia :

• January 2020

  • MPD 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. 

    By Marc Perrusquia January 09, 2020

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia January 06, 2020

• September 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 18, 2019

  • 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. 

    By Marc Perrusquia September 18, 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 18, 2019

  • Special 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 17, 2019

• May 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia May 17, 2019

  • Police reports of camera infractions raise questions

    A report memorializing procedural mistakes appears among hundreds of pages of records released Friday by the Memphis Police Department in answer to a public records request by the Institute for Public Service Reporting.

    By Marc Perrusquia and Yolanda Jones May 17, 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia May 17, 2019

• April 2019

  • 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. 

    By Marc Perrusquia April 04, 2019

• February 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia February 19, 2019

• January 2019

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia January 15, 2019

• December 2018

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia December 21, 2018

• October 2018

  • MPD 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia October 25, 2018

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia October 08, 2018

• September 2018

  • 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.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 16, 2018

  • Defense attorney questions memory, notes vs. recorded interrogation

    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.

    By Marc Perrusquia September 16, 2018