There are 68 article(s) tagged police reform:

• August 2020

  • City Council Scorecard: The canceled residency referendum and the door prize

    The scorecard highlights a pivotal vote in the police reform debate and why both sides in the discussion still have separate paths to pursue.

    By Bill Dries August 06, 2020

  • Residency issue removed from November ballot, goal of 2,800 police force delayed

    Two proposals with common political ground were before the council Tuesday. 

    By Bill Dries August 05, 2020

  • Police residency, larger police force intersect at City Council Tuesday

    The competing items are both up for discussion at an afternoon council committee session with a final vote by the council later Tuesday on doing away with the November ballot question that would allow police officers to live outside Shelby County.

    By Bill Dries August 04, 2020

  • Police force of 2,800 key to community policing, city experts say

    Phyllis Betts and Richard Janikowski have set a new bar for growing the Memphis Police Department ranks to 2,800. They talked on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast about calls for more police amid calls locally for changing the fundamentals of policing and even the share of government funds devoted to policing.

    By Bill Dries August 02, 2020

• July 2020

  • Council proposals call for examination of street, park and public place names

    Two proposals on the city council agenda Tuesday would change the rules for naming and renaming streets, parks and other places. It's part of a slate of council proposals that has grown larger than police reform to include changing city government priorities. The effort is being led by a renaming of one of the most well-known addresses in the city. 

    By Bill Dries July 21, 2020

  • Easter-Thomas: ‘Something missing’ in way police recruited

    Memphis City Council member talks on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast about her push to remove from the November ballot a residency referendum that would allow police and firefighters to live outside the county.

    By Bill Dries July 17, 2020

  • Morgan says local reaction to George Floyd still awaits real legislative police reform

    On The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast, City Council member Worth Morgan talks about his possible move to take police out of the city's civil service system and calls a move to cancel the November referendum allowing the city to hire police from outside Shelby County "the ultimate hypocrisy."

    By Bill Dries July 11, 2020

  • Strickland, Rallings shift emphasis from police reform to ongoing violence

    Mayor Jim Strickland’s reform discussions are continuing, he said Wednesday, but critics of the belief that more cops means less crime have become more vocal since the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd on Memorial Day. 

    By Bill Dries July 08, 2020

  • City Council takes first vote to remove police residency from ballot, talks other reforms

    Memphis City Council members also got their first look Tuesday at how much police have spent in the past four years on overtime and riot gear as well as other preparations to handle protests.

    By Bill Dries July 08, 2020

  • Black clergy oppose police residency referendum as insufficient

    African American clergy call for residency requirement for public safety to be taken off the November ballot. They don't think the measure will help bring about the police reform for which they are pushing. 

    By Yolanda Jones July 07, 2020

  • Police reform proposals and discussions dominate council agenda

    Memphis City Council members to discuss removing police from the city’s civil service system.

    By Bill Dries July 06, 2020

  • City Council to discuss removing police from civil service system

    The ordinance to be discussed is aimed at cases in which police leadership have moved to fire officers they found had used excessive force or deadly force improperly only to have those officers reinstated on appeal. The appeal is part of the city's civil service system.

    By Bill Dries July 03, 2020

  • Lee announces enhanced police training plan

    Gov. Bill Lee announced Thursday, July 2, plans for a partnership with various agencies to enhance officer training and increase police training.

    By Sam Stockard July 02, 2020

  • Smiley says look for more City Council moves on police reform

    On “Behind The Headlines,” the first-term council member said the proposals to come will push further on changing the Memphis Police Department beyond nonbinding resolutions approved last month. 

    By Bill Dries July 01, 2020

• June 2020

  • Strickland, Rallings make new overture on police reform

    Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings talked about further police reform efforts at a Tuesday briefing that was partially an answer to critics of Strickland's first set of reforms.

    By Bill Dries June 30, 2020

  • Nonprofit leaders press demands for change in policing and priorities

    The coalition of 150 local nonprofits issued a call for change two weeks ago. But they say they have seen little indication of movement and will continue to press their demands.

    By Bill Dries June 29, 2020

  • Cohen pushes for Barr impeachment, sees partisan divide in police reform calls

    The city's top elected Democrat talked about Barr's coming appearance before the House next month and the police reform debate in Washington and in the streets of Memphis.

    By Bill Dries June 28, 2020

  • Nine religious leaders reject Strickland police reform effort

    Nine ministers – who were all involved in the set of private meetings with the mayor that lead up to his City Hall announcement Thursday regarding moves toward police reform – put out a letter Friday critical of the reforms Strickland had announced.

    By Bill Dries June 26, 2020