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Sanford: Abusive behavior of Crisis Intervention Team belies intent

By , Daily Memphian Published: December 12, 2024 4:00 AM CT
Otis Sanford
Daily Memphian

Otis Sanford

Otis Sanford is a political columnist, author and professor emeritus in Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis.

Joseph DeWayne Robinson had been acting strangely for months.

Convinced someone was out to harm him, Robinson told his mother he expected to be killed any day.

At 27, Robinson was living with his mother, Reba Brownlee, his sister and her two children in what was then the LeMoyne Gardens public-housing complex in South Memphis. He had become a heavy cocaine user and his daily existence was spiraling out of control.

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Otis Sanford Crisis Intervention Team DOJ Memphis Police Department Subscriber Only

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