A variety of community voices spoke out on police reform during two discussions last week. 

Two conversations about police reform show the more detailed the proposed reforms become, the more differences they reveal.

The Unity Walk Against Gun Violence held Saturday marks a year when the city set a new high for homicides by September. As of Nov. 13, there have been 271 homicides, 43 more than the previous high of 228 in 2016.

Thanks to a $130,000 grant, education classes will continue remotely for inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center. 

The federal Department of Justice will allow local police serving on federal task forces to wear body cameras. In Memphis and other parts of the country, federal officials have been criticized for banning the use of cameras on joint local-federal operations. 

Leaders urge citizens to take part in Unity Walk Against Gun Violence Saturday, Nov. 14. 

Homicides involving children are on the rise, and community leaders are looking for answers.

Gov. Bill Lee temporarily halts Dec. 3 execution of death row inmate Pervis Payne because of COVID-19 concerns. 

As the Memphis Police Department weighs a request by District Attorney General Amy Weirich to start sending all confirmed cases of excessive force to her office for criminal review, this hotly disputed September 2016 incident illustrates how thorny Weirich’s proposal may be.

Related Story: A third of MPD excessive force findings are reversed by commanders

Case of Memphis police lieutenant allegedly choking a woman in a bar fight is among a third of cases in which MPD commanders reversed investigators and dismissed excessive force charges.

The Tennessee Black Caucus has filed a bill seeking to protect the intellectually disabled from the death penalty. The legislation stems from the case of death row inmate Pervis Payne of Shelby County. 

Forum will be public on Hooks Institute Facebook page.

U.S. Dist. Judge Mark Norris tells parties he will rule as soon as possible over landlords’ request to at least temporarily block the CDC’s order halting evictions across the nation.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service is offering $50,000 in rewards for information in the cases of eight children who have been slain this year in Memphis.

The “reimagine policing” group is to make recommendations by the start of the new year. 

Amy Weirich fires longtime assistant prosecutor Glenda Adams amid misconduct investigation.

Shelby County Criminal Court was set to begin holding some trials next month, but now restarting jury trials is on hold until the health department issues COVID-19 safety protocols. 

Rosalyn Holmes, charged as an adult in 2018 on kidnapping and robbery charges, was kept in adult prison for 40 days without being convicted of a crime. Charges were dropped against her recently and she is moving forward with her life.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also said on the WKNO program “Behind The Headlines” that police reform still means hiring more officers.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday, Oct. 21, that 5,500 arrests have been made nationwide, including 66 in Memphis, as part of Operation LeGend, an initiative designed to help curb violent crime in select cities.

U.S. Attorney General William Barr will be in Memphis Wednesday, Oct. 21, to discuss the federal Operation Legend initiative, which brought 40 federal agents to the city to work in conjunction with local police to combat violent crime.

The violent crime task force is forming as Police Director Michael Rallings told City Council members Tuesday that more officers means less crime. The city has already this year set a record for the number of annual homicides.

Three employees with Better Days Tax Service have been charged with wire fraud, accused of scamming $1.1 million from a COVID-19 loan relief program aimed at helping small businesses impacted by the pandemic. 

Since a mixup in evidence at the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk’s property and evidence room, a new verification procedure has been put in place to reduce the risk of such a situation occurring again. 

Former Memphis City Council member Harold Collins and Just City Director Josh Spickler said on “Behind The Headlines” that for all of the talk of changing police, MPD is still policing the way it has for decades.