Memphis’ mayor pushes back against feds’ calls for major reforms of city’s police force

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis’ mayor pushed back Thursday against the need for a Justice Department deal to enact reforms in light of the scathing findings of an investigation into the Memphis Police Department, saying the city has already made hundreds of positive changes since the beating death of Tyre Nichols. His remarks came minutes after a top Justice Department official warned that the DOJ could sue to require reforms of Memphis’ police force should the city refuse to sign an agreement. The investigation determined that police in Tennessee’s second-largest city have violated citizens’ constitutional rights and civil rights, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said at a Thursday news conference, describing the lengthy review as “comprehensive and exhaustive.” The police department’s practices violate the Constitution and federal law, and “harm and demean people and they promote distrust, undermining the fundamental safety mission of a police department,” Clarke said. In one training example, officers were told that, “If a fight is unavoidable, hurt them first and hurt them bad.” In a Wednesday letter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the city attorney said Memphis had received the a DOJ’s consent decree request but wouldn’t agree to one until it had thoroughly reviewed the report.