Memphis Local, Sports, Business & Food News | Daily Memphian | Ben Wheeler

Public safety data tough to track, especially when it comes to solving homicides

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Mon, 8 Apr 2024 04:00:14 -0500

A lack of solid, shared data across the local public safety system’s multiple agencies has led to plenty of discrepancies, and the Memphis Police Department’s homicide clearance rate stands as a stark example.

Mayor says MPD's new lieutenant position is necessary

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Wed, 3 Apr 2024 06:11:20 -0500

MPD and its police union disagree over the recent creation of a frontline supervisor role, but Memphis Mayor Paul Young says the second lieutenant rank is needed to avoid another U.S. Department of Justice consent decree.

Fight over police promotions creates internal chaos

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Mon, 1 Apr 2024 13:27:55 -0500

MPD’s establishment of the second lieutenant field supervisor role was meant to fill a gap within the force. But after arbitration and further negotiations, the process has left officers divided.

City files to vacate MPD arbitration judgment

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:36:18 -0500

The City of Memphis has filed a petition to vacate the results of arbitration between the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis Police Association over the creation of the second lieutenant rank.

Petition filed in Lester Street Murders case claims false confession

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:31:05 -0500

Jessie Dotson was convicted of the six-murder scene in 2010 and currently sits on death row in Nashville.

Former sheriff asks why 201 Poplar seems to be going backward

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 13:21:06 -0500

“We were able to remedy the problem,” said former Shelby County Sheriff and former county mayor Mark Luttrell. “Why did the remedy not stay in place?”

Understaffed and underpaid: Top jailer cites reasons for security issues

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 11:05:18 -0500

A December 2023 deposition provides testimony from assistant chief jailer George Askew about the state of the Shelby County jail and how it’s run.

Former sheriff asks why 201 Poplar seems to be going backward

Mulroy: Memphis needs local crime lab, 24-hour ballistics testing

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 18:35:58 -0500

“This 24-hour ballistics lab can also provide us with expanded ability to retrieve serial numbers that have been obliterated from guns, which is also something that is important,” Mulroy said.

MPD promotion process ruled violation of agreement with union

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:48:37 -0500

After MPD announced a new first-line supervisory rank — second lieutenant — and promotion process in February of last year, the police union filed a grievance.

Tyre Nichols' parents furious after meeting with state Sen. Brent Taylor

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 19:53:34 -0500

The Wells family released a letter Friday pleading with Gov. Bill Lee to meet with them before he signs the bill into law, appealing to the promise he made to them in 2023.

Decertification postponed for former sheriff’s office captain

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 18:48:29 -0500

Decertification of an SCSO captain was delayed Friday because of question whether she was properly notified of a hearing.

Tyre Nichols' parents ask for meeting with Gov. Bill Lee

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 18:39:00 -0500

Tyre Nichols’ parents have released a letter asking to sit down with Gov. Bill Lee before he signs a bill that would ban traffic stop ordinances like the one passed by the Memphis City Council.

Tyre Nichols’ parents furious after meeting with state Sen. Brent Taylor

Former sheriff's office captain recommended for decertification

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 19:53:30 -0500

A former Shelby County Sheriff’s captain failed to show up for her hearing with the POST Commission on Thursday leading to a recommendation that she be decertified as a law enforcement officer.

City signs new memorandum of understanding with DOJ

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Fri, 8 Mar 2024 04:00:06 -0600

The city did not confirm the MOU is part of a Department of Justice pattern-or-practice investigation, but one expert told The Daily Memphian it likely is a “perfunctory” step in that process.

Civil rights attorney retained in MPD shooting suit

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Wed, 6 Mar 2024 17:55:12 -0600

The mother of a man who was fatally shot by Memphis Police Department officers in December 2022 has retained an attorney in her federal lawsuit against the city. The DA’s did not file any criminal charges against the involved officers.

New videos show violent encounters in Shelby County Jail

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Sat, 2 Mar 2024 10:53:16 -0600

The newly released footage shows other altercations between inmates at the Shelby County Jail and corrections officers.

How The Daily Memphian obtained new jail video

How The Daily Memphian obtained new jail video

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Sat, 2 Mar 2024 04:00:04 -0600

After federal court clerks told The Daily Memphian it needed to file a formal motion for the footage, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press did so, requesting the video on behalf of the local news site in January.

Homeless hospital patient discharged wearing only a gown. It's not an unusual story.

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 06:59:28 -0600

“She’s literally just in a hospital gown, with nothing else on. She can’t walk,” an Uber driver said of a passenger picked up. “And I’m thinking, it’s getting dark. It’s about to rain. This is a perfect storm for something terrible to happen to a person.”

Four former Memphis police officers decertified

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 18:21:34 -0600

One former Memphis Police officer contested his decertification before the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, and three more did not appear for the hearings.

Previously unnamed MPD officer fired for actions night of Tyre Nichols' traffic stop

bwheeler@dailymemphian.com (Ben Wheeler) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:35:25 -0600

An additional police officer, previously unidentified, was fired for his part in a traffic stop that occurred Jan. 7, the same night Tyre Nichols was stopped by MPD.