Things to know about the federal investigation into the Memphis Police Department
Associated PressNASHVILLE, Tenn. — A U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that the Memphis Police Department committed a host of civil rights violations, including using excessive force, making illegal traffic stops and disproportionately targeting Black people in the majority Black city. The city requires officers to respond to 911 calls involving people experiencing behavioral health issues, most of them nonviolent, but officers sometimes belittle and use unnecessary force on them, including shooting them with Tasers. By the numbers — In a city of about 630,000 people, officers reported nearly 866,200 traffic stops between January 2018 and August 2023. Memphis officers made about twice as many traffic stops and issued three times as many citations as police in the state’s biggest city, Nashville.