MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis will not agree to negotiate federal oversight of its police department until it can review and challenge results of a yet-to-be-released Department of Justice investigation into how its officers use force and treat minorities, according to a letter released by the city on Wednesday.
In the letter to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Memphis City Attorney Tannera George Gibson said the city has received a request from the DOJ to enter into an agreement that would require it to "negotiate a consent decree aimed at institutional police and emergency services."
In July 2023, the Justice Department announced an investigation into the Memphis Police Department, looking at the department's "pattern or practice" of how it uses force and conducts stops, searches and arrests, and whether it engages in discriminatory policing. The findings of the investigation have not been released.
"Until the City has had the opportunity to review, analyze, and challenge the specific allegations that support your forthcoming findings report, the City cannot - and will not - agree to work toward or enter into a consent decree that will likely be in place for years to come and will cost the residents of Memphis hundreds of millions of dollars,"
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police video showed officers pepper spraying Nichols and hitting him with a Taser before he ran away from a traffic stop. Five officers chased down Nichols and kicked, punched and hit him with a police baton just steps from his home as he called out for his mother. The video showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries.
Nichols died on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. The five officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith - were fired, charged in state court with murder, and indicted by a federal grand jury on civil rights charges.
"Nichols was Black,"
The death led to national protests calling for police reforms in the U.S., directing intense scrutiny towards the Memphis Police Department.
The Scorpion Unit was disbanded after Nichols' death. Martin pleaded guilty under deals with prosecutors; Bean acquitted of civil rights charges; Haley convicted on two lesser charges related to bodily injury; sentencing awaited.
Other Investigations
- Trenton: Pattern of misconduct including excessive force documented by DOJ in Nov 2021.
- Minneapolis: Allegations against racial minorities reported in June 2023 following George Floyd incident.
- Kentucky: Violations against Black community found post-Breonna Taylor case in March 2023.