MPD’s Slow Down Memphis operation to combat speeding, drag racing and interstate shootings has revved up by partnering with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Pervis Payne, a death row inmate for 33 years, appeared in court for the first time in 14 years Friday for a hearing on access to records in determining his mental competency. 

Veda Ajamu is about to get the chance to help with criminal justice reform as a Justice Reform Fellow for Families Against Mandatory Minimums. 

MPD Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis discussed meeting with President Biden Monday and plans to fight violent crime in Memphis. 

During the Monday meeting at the White House with Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis and other police chiefs, President Biden said federal, state and local coordination is essential to his violent crime strategy. 

The son of one-time topless nightclub kingpin Danny Owens drew a sentence below federal guidelines for drug conspiracy.

Despite the possibility of additional charges, a Sept. 13 trial date remains in place for now in the case against state Sen. Katrina Robinson on charges related to her business, The Healthcare Institute. 

Tennessee’s permitless carry law goes into effect July 1, and local law enforcement and advocates are worried about the impact the new law will have on crime. 

Memphis rapper Pooh Shiesty has been indicted in federal court over an alleged shooting and robbery of two men in October 2020 outside a Florida hotel.

An off-duty Memphis police officer charged with vehicular homicide was released without bond during a Wednesday court appearance. 

An off-duty Memphis police officer was reportedly speeding Friday when his Charger struck a car on Walnut Grove Road in Cordova. Two people were killed. 

Memphis activists react after former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in George Floyd’s death, was sentenced to 22½ years in prison. 

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland also called on the state of Tennessee to use its federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to put more highway patrol officers on the city’s interstates permanently as well as cameras to combat shootings.

Shelby County Dist. Atty. Amy Weirich, law enforcement and advocates announced a new relocation program to be offered to victims and witnesses of crime who may be intimidated or afraid to testify in criminal cases. 

Even Anthony Smith, who was a drag racer in the ‘Street Outlaws: Memphis’ TV series, says there’s a problem. ‘These kids now are out here ... cutting doughnuts and shooting guns in the air, and that ain’t the drag racing we do.’

Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis was sworn in as Memphis’ police chief Friday, June 18. She is the first woman to be named chief in the city’s history. 

David Boone, a Shelby County teacher and alderman in Brighton, has been indicted after he was accused of fondling a juvenile in an incident that occurred in Southaven, Mississippi. 

“For reasons still under investigation, three officers fired at the man, fatally wounding him,” the TBI said in a press release. The victim had multiple firearms, the release said, and would not drop them.

West says it provided no services for the $16 million contract and provides records that show how much its physicians’ salary pool increased during the “partnership.”

Shelby County General Sessions Judge John Donald is set to retire next month after 35 years on the bench. 

He said policing has been his ministry. “I’ve always had a heart for helping those that really could not make that next step by themselves, and they needed some assistance,” he said. “I love God, and I just feel like His hand has been over me to drive that badge forward in a ministry type way.”

The Fourth Unity Walk comes after a year of unprecedented violence that saw 2020 become the deadliest year on record for Memphis, with 332 homicides. And 2021 is on path to continue that trend.

Leon Gray, special assistant to Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael, died Friday, June 11. He worked in television and radio and was well known in the community.

Gadson “Will” Perry, a Memphis lawyer, has been appointed as the new Shelby County Chancery Court judge in Memphis. 

The trial for state Sen. Katrina Robinson and two others has been postponed after attorneys told the court they need more time to prepare.