There are 23 article(s) tagged Tennessee Highway Patrol:
Shelby County has more traffic fatalities than any other Tennessee county, and the impact on families is irreversible. Law enforcement officials seek to bend the curve by increasing patrol on the streets and curbing speeding.
More than 50 troopers will contribute to an ongoing “surge” over the next few weeks, after state Sen. Brent Taylor pleaded for more help fighting crime in Memphis.
When he began working for the Tennessee Highway Patrol in 2020, Trooper DeVonte Quinn said there were five fellow troopers assigned to Shelby County. Now there are 15, and THP is looking to expand that team even more.
Tennessee Highway Patrol has recruited 1,000 applicants in its newest cadet class, and of those, between 110 and 115 are from Shelby County, Gov. Bill Lee told reporters during a press conference Wednesday, Aug. 9.Related Story:
The THP officers are not bound by Memphis City Council reforms put in place after Nichols’ death in January at the hands of the Memphis Police Department’s since-disbanded SCORPION unit.
As Tennessee again promises an increased number of state troopers, municipalities around the country are trying to find ways to curb the influence of lead-footed drivers, Memphis included. Memphis seeing more state troopers not just on highways but on ‘our city streets’Related story:
Local and state officials hope to continue to see more Tennessee Highway Patrol officers in Memphis and Shelby County, a number that could be helped by a potential $10,000 bonus each year for any trooper assigned to the area.
Memphis area roads affected include Walnut Grove Road, Macon Road, Raleigh Lagrange Road, North Houston Levee Road and Tenn. 194.
In wide-ranging discussion about violent crime, the Memphis City Council voted to ask the state for at least 50 more state troopers for at least six months and a digital messaging system similar to Amber Alert.
By the end of the year, the Memphis Police Department hopes to add 10 officers to its traffic division, and the highway patrol plans to put 20 officers on Shelby County interstates.
“For the first six months of the year, the Memphis Police Department has made more drag racing arrests than they made in 2019 and 2020,” MPD Deputy Chief Paul Wright said.
A busload of area police officers got a firsthand look Monday at the many dangerous distractions that capture the attention of drivers.
A day after announcing the addition of 20 state troopers to patrol the interstates in Memphis, Gov. Bill Lee Thursday, March 3, reiterated his commitment to invest in law enforcement to make the city safe.
The increase in THP officers for the city’s interstate system and state highways has been a goal of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
“We see a lot of bad things happening on the roadways nowadays from excessive speeding to people texting and driving or either distracted on their phones.”
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says it’s a lack of manpower and not a lack of money that is hampering traffic enforcement efforts on interstates.
Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Matt Perry: “We’re gonna hire a whole lot of troopers in a short period.”
With local motorists driving ‘as if they are in video games,’ city and state law enforcement are at odds over who bears more responsibility for enforcing highway speeding laws.
More Tennessee Highway Patrol officers are on the way to Shelby County as Memphis seeks to turn over patrols of the city’s interstate system to the state, including combatting gun violence.
It seems counterintuitive, but traffic fatalities and accidents with injuries were actually up in Memphis last year, even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused fewer people to be on the roads. The reduced traffic may have just opened up the roadways for dangerous drivers.
A highway shooting this week was the fourth of the year and continues a trend of 45 on Memphis roadways last year.
There has been one interstate shooting reported on area highways since local and state law enforcement stepped up patrols earlier this summer, Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said. Efforts are continuing.
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